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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 8 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claims 8 and 19 recite the limitation "the body contact region". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claim 7 introduces a body contact region for the first time and claim 8 appears to be depending from claim 7, not claim 1. The same applies to claim 19.
DETAILED ACTION
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
Claims 1-5, 7-16 and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Zhu et al. (Pub. No. US 2015/0041917 A1).
Regarding claims 1 and 10, Zhu discloses a mobile device comprising: an antenna; and a front-end system coupled to the antenna and including a radio frequency switch (Zhu: paragraphs [0018], [0120]-[0121], [0147]-[0148]), the radio frequency switch comprising: a first field-effect transistor 300a including a first source, a first drain, and a first transistor gate extending over a first edge of an active region 302 (Zhu: Figs. 3-7 and paragraph [0062]); a second field-effect transistor 300b having a second source connected to the first drain, a second drain, and a second transistor gate extending over a second edge of the active region 302 opposite the first edge (Zhu: Figs. 3-7 and paragraph [0064]); a radio frequency switch input connection “IN/IN1” extending in parallel to the first transistor gate and contacting the active region to connect to the first source of the first field-effect transistor; and a radio frequency switch output connection “OUT/OUT2” extending in parallel to the second transistor gate and contacting the active region to connect to the second drain of the second field-effect transistor, the first transistor gate and the second transistor gate positioned between the radio frequency switch input connection and the radio frequency switch output connection (Zhu: Figs. 3-7 and paragraphs [0063]-[0065]).
Regarding claims 2 and 14, Zhu discloses the radio frequency switch of claim 1 wherein the radio frequency switch input connection does not reach the second edge of the active region, and the radio frequency switch output connection does not reach the first edge of the active region (Zhu: Figs. 3-7 and paragraphs [0063]-[0065]).
Regarding claim 3, Zhu discloses the radio frequency switch of claim 1 wherein the active region is rectangular (Zhu: Figs. 3-7 and paragraphs [0063]-[0065]).
Regarding claims 4 and 15, Zhu discloses the radio frequency switch of claim 1 wherein the active region includes a first rectangular region 302a and a second rectangular region 302b, the first rectangular region abutting but offset from the second rectangular region (Zhu: Figs. 3-7 and paragraphs [0062]-[0064]; Zhu shows different FETs with different number of fingers or varying gate widths adjacent to each other. Therefore, Zhu inherently discloses at least two active regions adjacent to each other wherein one of them is offset from the second one.).
Regarding claims 5 and 16, Zhu discloses the radio frequency switch of claim 4 wherein the first transistor gate extends over the first rectangular region, and the second transistor gate extends over the second rectangular region (Zhu: Figs. 3-7 and paragraphs [0063]-[0065]).
Regarding claims 7 and 18, Zhu discloses the radio frequency switch of claim 1 wherein the active region is formed in a semiconductor, the radio frequency switch further including a body contact region that contacts the semiconductor adjacent to the first edge of the active region (Zhu: Figs. 3-7, 21-22 and paragraphs [0109]-[0113]).
Regarding claims 8 and 19, Zhu discloses the radio frequency switch of claim 7 wherein the body contact region includes a plurality of body contacts bridged by metal (Zhu: Figs. 21-22 and paragraphs [0109]-[0113]).
Regarding claims 9 and 20, Zhu discloses the radio frequency switch of claim 8 wherein a body contact is present only on one side of the active region (Zhu: Figs. 21-22 and paragraphs [0109]-[0113]).
Regarding claim 11, Zhu discloses the radio frequency switch of claim 10 wherein the front-end system further includes a power amplifier having an output connected to the radio frequency switch input (Zhu: Fig. 28 and paragraphs [0018], [0145]).
Regarding claim 12, Zhu discloses the radio frequency switch of claim 10 wherein the front-end system further includes a low noise amplifier having an input connected to the radio frequency switch output (Zhu: Fig. 28 and paragraphs [0018], [0147]).
Regarding claim 13, Zhu discloses a packaged module comprising: a package substrate; and a semiconductor die attached to the package substrate and including a radio frequency switch formed thereon (Zhu: Figs. 26A-26B and paragraphs [0137]-[0142]), the radio frequency switch including: a first field-effect transistor 300a including a first source, a first drain, and a first transistor gate extending over a first edge of an active region 302 (Zhu: Figs. 3-7 and paragraph [0062]); a second field-effect transistor 300b having a second source connected to the first drain, a second drain, and a second transistor gate extending over a second edge of the active region 302 opposite the first edge (Zhu: Figs. 3-7 and paragraph [0064]); a radio frequency switch input connection “IN/IN1” extending in parallel to the first transistor gate and contacting the active region to connect to the first source of the first field-effect transistor; and a radio frequency switch output connection “OUT/OUT2” extending in parallel to the second transistor gate and contacting the active region to connect to the second drain of the second field-effect transistor, the first transistor gate and the second transistor gate positioned between the radio frequency switch input connection and the radio frequency switch output connection (Zhu: Figs. 3-7 and paragraphs [0063]-[0065]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6 and 17 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claims 6 and 17, the prior art of record alone or in combination do not teach or fairly suggest, in combination with other elements of the claim, further comprising an internal drain/source bias region extending in parallel to the second edge of the active region, the internal drain/source bias region contacting the active region to connect to the drain of the first field-effect transistor and to the source of the second field-effect transistor.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MALIHEH MALEK whose telephone number is (571)270-1874. The examiner can normally be reached M/T/W/R/F, 8:30-5.
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, Steven B Gauthier can be reached on (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.
February 5, 2026
/MALIHEH MALEK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2813