Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/306,412

PASSIVE TUNABLE ON-CHIP LOAD MODULATION NETWORK FOR HIGH-EFFICIENCY POWER AMPLIFIERS

Final Rejection §102§103
Filed
Apr 25, 2023
Examiner
CHOE, HENRY
Art Unit
2843
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
The Regents of the University of California
OA Round
2 (Final)
92%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
2y 1m
To Grant
65%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 92% — above average
92%
Career Allow Rate
1238 granted / 1339 resolved
+24.5% vs TC avg
Minimal -27% lift
Without
With
+-27.4%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Fast prosecutor
2y 1m
Avg Prosecution
29 currently pending
Career history
1368
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.5%
-39.5% vs TC avg
§103
37.4%
-2.6% vs TC avg
§102
47.1%
+7.1% vs TC avg
§112
3.8%
-36.2% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1339 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103
DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . Independent claim 11 is the broadest independent claim I (examiner) ever seen. Please amend the independent claim 11 in reasonable way. Thank you, Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 Claims 1-3 and 5-12 are still rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by [Coleman (Fig. 1); 10,033,074] (of record) for reasons of record. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 Claim 4 is still rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over [Coleman (Fig. 1); 10,033,074] in view of [Brankovic et al (Fig. 7); 6,650,178] (of record) for reasons of record. Response to Arguments Applicant's arguments filed 2/23/26 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues that the ring system of Coleman in the non-contacting rotary joint is a controlled impedance differential transmission line that is non-resonant, discontinuous, and typically implemented in microstrip multilayer printed circuit board technology. However, claim 1 never recited that the claimed invention is contacting rotary joint is a non-controlled impedance differential transmission line that is resonant, continuous, and typically non-implemented in microstrip multilayer printed circuit board technology. While the examiner acknowledges that the specific features argued by applicant’s are not explicitly disclosed in Coleman’s reference, it should be noted that such features, as argued by applicants, have not been positively recited in claim 1. Therefore, applicant’s arguments are not commensurate with what is actually claimed. Applicant further argues that the incorporation of two terminating loads implies substantial power consumption to effect the high bandwidth near field coupling in Coleman. Again, claim 1 never recited that the applicant’s invention does not include two terminating loads. Therefore, applicant’s arguments are not commensurate with what is actually claimed. Applicant further argues that there is nothing that changes the impedance of the ring in Coleman. Examiner disagrees with this statement. Due to the temperature changes, the impedance of the ring in Coleman changes. In other words, the impedance of the ring in Coleman never stay in constant. Conclusion THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a). A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Henry Choe whose telephone number is (571)272-1760. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 6:00 AM- 6:00 PM EST. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interview practice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Andrea J Lindgren Baltzell can be reached on (571)272-5918. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. /HENRY CHOE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2843
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Apr 25, 2023
Application Filed
Oct 28, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §102, §103
Feb 23, 2026
Response Filed
Mar 20, 2026
Final Rejection — §102, §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12603612
POWER SUPPLY CONTROL SYSTEM
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 14, 2026
Patent 12603625
STACKED DIGITAL CURRENT STEERING AUTOMATIC GAIN CONTROL ATTENUATOR
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 14, 2026
Patent 12597890
OVER TEMPERATURE PROTECTION OF LDO CONTROLLING THE RF POWER AMPLIFIER COLLECTOR VOLTAGE
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 07, 2026
Patent 12597893
SEMICONDUCTOR INTEGRATED CIRCUIT AND RADIO-FREQUENCY MODULE
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 07, 2026
Patent 12597888
ADAPTIVE STABILIZATION AND/OR PERFORMANCE OPTIMIZATION OF POWER AMPLIFIERS
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 07, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
92%
Grant Probability
65%
With Interview (-27.4%)
2y 1m
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 1339 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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