Office Action Predictor
Last updated: April 17, 2026
Application No. 18/317,777

SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
May 15, 2023
Examiner
AHMED, SHAHED
Art Unit
2813
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
mitsubishi electric Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
91%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 1m
To Grant
91%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 91% — above average
91%
Career Allow Rate
866 granted / 955 resolved
+22.7% vs TC avg
Minimal +0% lift
Without
With
+0.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Fast prosecutor
2y 1m
Avg Prosecution
45 currently pending
Career history
1000
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.8%
-38.2% vs TC avg
§103
50.9%
+10.9% vs TC avg
§102
22.0%
-18.0% vs TC avg
§112
19.8%
-20.2% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 955 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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. DETAILED ACTION This action is responsive to application No . 18317777 filed on 05/15/2023. Information Disclosure Statement Acknowledgment is made of Applicant’s Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) form PTO-1449. These IDS has been considered. Priority Receipt is acknowledged of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file. Specification The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed. Election/Restrictions Applicant’s election without traverse of clams 1-4 in the reply filed on 09/05/2025 is acknowledged. Claim 3 recites “ wherein the first electrode does not fill the concave portions ” does not read on elected species I (reads on non-elected species species IV- Fig. 10). Accordingly, claim 3 is withdrawn from consideration. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action: A person shall be entitled to a patent unless – (a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claim s 1 -2, 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Horii et al. (US 2016/0189955 ). Regarding independent claim 1 , Horii et al. teach a semiconductor device comprising: a semiconductor substrate (Fig. 1, element 10) having a first surface (Fig. 1, element 2A) , a second surface (Fig. 1, element 1B) facing the first surface, and an outline (Fig . 1 ) ; and an impurity region (Fig. 14, element 13) located on a side of the first surface in the semiconductor substrate, wherein the second surface has a plurality of concave portions (Fig. 1, element 9) , and each of the plurality of concave portions open toward a side opposite to the first surface and extend along a direction perpendicular to a direction in which the semiconductor substrate is susceptible to warping most (Figs.1-3, paragraph 0036) . Regarding claim 2 , Horii et al. teach further comprising a first electrode (Fig. 14, element 19) in contact with the second surface, wherein the conductivity type of the semiconductor substrate at the first surface and that at the second surface coincide with each other (Figs. 1, 14) . Regarding claim 4 , Horii et al. teach wherein the outline has an orientation flat, and the plurality of concave portions each extend in parallel to the orientation flat (Fig. 1) . Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT SHAHED AHMED whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)272-3477 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT M-F 9-5 . 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/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, FILLIN "SPE Name?" \* MERGEFORMAT Steven Gauthier can be reached on FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT 571-270-0373 . The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /SHAHED AHMED/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2813
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

May 15, 2023
Application Filed
Nov 12, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §102
Mar 03, 2026
Examiner Interview Summary
Mar 03, 2026
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)
Mar 23, 2026
Response Filed

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12604673
JOSEPHSON JUNCTION DEVICE AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 14, 2026
Patent 12604589
DISPLAY DEVICE AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 14, 2026
Patent 12604498
MEMORY DEVICE
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 14, 2026
Patent 12604502
NANOCHANNEL GALLIUM NITRIDE-BASED DEVICE AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 14, 2026
Patent 12598762
METHODS OF MANUFACTURING A SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE WITH LOCAL ISOLATION AND A SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE WITH LOCAL ISOLATION
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 07, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

AI Strategy Recommendation

Get an AI-powered prosecution strategy using examiner precedents, rejection analysis, and claim mapping.
Powered by AI — typically takes 5-10 seconds

Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
91%
Grant Probability
91%
With Interview (+0.0%)
2y 1m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 955 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

Sign in for Full Analysis

Enter your email to receive a magic link. No password needed.

Free tier: 3 strategy analyses per month