Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/370,459

LATERAL BIPOLAR JUNCTION TRANSISTOR DEVICE AND METHOD OF FORMING SAME

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Sep 20, 2023
Examiner
SUN, YU-HSI DAVID
Art Unit
2817
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
77%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 9m
To Grant
85%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 77% — above average
77%
Career Allow Rate
648 granted / 845 resolved
+8.7% vs TC avg
Moderate +8% lift
Without
With
+8.4%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 9m
Avg Prosecution
27 currently pending
Career history
872
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
3.0%
-37.0% vs TC avg
§103
45.9%
+5.9% vs TC avg
§102
25.5%
-14.5% vs TC avg
§112
16.6%
-23.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 845 resolved cases

Office Action

§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 . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action: A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made. Claims 12-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over YANAGISAWA et al. (US PG Pub 2022/0270954, hereinafter Yanagisawa). Regarding claim 12, figure 1 of Yanagisawa discloses a circuit comprising: a plurality MOS transistor including: a drain region (below drain electrode D); a first source region and a second source region (below sections of source electrode S); and a Pi or H shaped gate (G) and gate oxide layer (would be below gate electrode to form a functioning transistor), the Pi or H shaped gate including a first gate portion extending (21 on the far left) between the drain region and the first source region, a second gate portion (21 second from the left) parallel to the first gate portion and extending between the drain region and the second source region, and a first connecting gate portion (22A) transverse to the first and second gate portions and connecting the first and second gate portions. Yanagisawa does not explicitly disclose a plurality of MOS transistors. However, it would have been obvious to form a plurality of MOS transistors in order to form an integrated circuit device and also since it has been held that mere duplication of the essential working parts of a device involves only routine skill in the art. St. Regis Paper Co. v. Bemis Co., 193 USPQ 8 Regarding claim 13, figure 1 of Yanagisawa discloses the Pi or H shaped gate (G) is an H shaped gate that further includes a second connecting gate portion (22B) arranged parallel with the first connecting gate portion and also connecting the first and second gate portions, wherein the drain region (below drain electrode D) and the first and second source regions (below source electrode S) are disposed between the first connecting gate portion and the second connecting gate portion. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 1-11 and 14-20 are allowed. Regarding claims 1 and 14, the prior art of record, either singularly or in combination, does not disclose or suggest the combination of limitations including “a Pi shaped or H shaped gate and gate oxide layer, the Pi or H shaped gate including a first gate portion extending between the emitter region and the first collector region, a second gate portion parallel to the first gate portion and extending between the emitter region and the second collector region, and a first connecting gate portion transverse to the first and second gate portions and connecting the first and second gate portions; and a first base region disposed underneath the first gate portion and a second base region disposed underneath the second gate portion”. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to YU-HSI DAVID SUN whose telephone number is (571)270-5773. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 8am-4pm ET. 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, Marlon Fletcher can be reached at 571-272-2063. 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. /YU-HSI D SUN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2817
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Sep 20, 2023
Application Filed
Jan 12, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12604693
METHOD OF MANUFACTURING CHIPS
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 14, 2026
Patent 12598821
CHIP PACKAGE STRUCTURE AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING THE SAME
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 07, 2026
Patent 12593717
SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 31, 2026
Patent 12581982
BONDING WIRE FOR SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 17, 2026
Patent 12582016
SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 17, 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
77%
Grant Probability
85%
With Interview (+8.4%)
2y 9m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 845 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

Sign in with your work email

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

Personal email addresses (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) are not accepted.

Free tier: 3 strategy analyses per month