Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/431,550

HIGH VOLTAGE SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING SAME

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Feb 02, 2024
Priority
Dec 19, 2023 — RE 10-2023-0185577
Examiner
SEVEN, EVREN
Art Unit
2812
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Db Hitek Co. Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
74%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
82%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 74% — above average
74%
Career Allowance Rate
542 granted / 733 resolved
+5.9% vs TC avg
Moderate +9% lift
Without
With
+8.6%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 3m
Avg Prosecution
36 currently pending
Career history
768
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
2.2%
-37.8% vs TC avg
§103
82.2%
+42.2% vs TC avg
§102
6.7%
-33.3% vs TC avg
§112
7.0%
-33.0% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 733 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
Detailed Action 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 § 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. Claims 1- are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 20200043801 to Kim et al. (Kim). Regarding Claim 1, Kim teaches in Fig. 1 at least, high-voltage semiconductor device comprising: a substrate 10; a gate field plate 60 disposed at a substrate surface of the substrate; a gate region 70 disposed on the substrate, wherein the gate region is partly disposed on the gate field plate; and a drift region disposed in the substrate, wherein the drift region comprises: a first impurity region 51 disposed at the substrate surface; and a second impurity 20 region covering at least one side wall of the first impurity region. Regarding Claim 2, Kim teaches the high-voltage semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein the drift region has group 15 element impurity ion (N type, must be group 15). Regarding Claim 4, Kim teaches the high-voltage semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein the second impurity region covers a lower portion of the first impurity region and the at least one side wall of the first impurity region (see Fig. 1). Regarding Claim 5, Kim teaches the high-voltage semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein the first impurity region is formed by using a hard mask that is used for forming the gate field plate (product by process limitations do not bear weight, see MPEP 2113). Regarding Claim 6, Kim teaches the high-voltage semiconductor device of claim 1, further comprising: a body region 30 disposed in the substrate; a source region 45 disposed at the substrate surface, in the body region; and a drain region 25 disposed apart from the source region, the drain region being disposed at the substrate surface and in the substrate. Regarding Claim 7, Kim teaches the high-voltage semiconductor device of claim 6, further comprising: a drain extension region 23 covering the drain region, the drain extension region being disposed in the substrate, wherein the drain extension region has an impurity low concentration doped region in comparison to the drain region (N+ vs. N). Regarding Claim 8, Kim teaches a high-voltage semiconductor device comprising: a substrate 10; a gate field plate 60 disposed at a substrate surface of the substrate; a gate region 70 disposed on the substrate, wherein the gate region is partly disposed on the gate field plate; a drift region 20 of a second conductivity type N disposed in the substrate; a body region 30 of a first conductivity type P disposed in the substrate; a source 45 region of the second conductivity type disposed in the body region; and a drain region 25 of the second conductivity type disposed in the drift region, wherein the drift region comprises: a first impurity region 51 disposed at the substrate surface; and a second impurity region 20 disposed below the first impurity region, wherein the first impurity region comprises: a protruding region protruding towards the source region from a part of the first impurity region facing the source region (see Fig. 1). Regarding Claim 9, Kim teaches the high-voltage semiconductor device of claim 8, wherein the second impurity region covers the protruding region (see Fig. 1). Regarding Claim 11, Kim teaches the high-voltage semiconductor device of claim 8, wherein the drift region has an impurity low concentration doped region in comparison to the drain region. Regarding Claim 12, Kim teaches the high-voltage semiconductor device of claim 8, wherein the drift region is formed immediately before a formation process of the gate field plate (N+ vs. N). Allowable Subject Matter Claims 3 and 10 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: The cited prior art does not teach that the second impurity region has group 15 element impurity ion having atomic weight smaller than atomic weight of the group 15 element impurity ion of the first impurity region or that the second impurity region comprises: a first layer disposed below the first impurity region in the substrate; and a second layer disposed below the first layer in the substrate in context with the superseding claims. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to EVREN SEVEN whose telephone number is (571)270-5666. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 8:00- 5:00 Pacific. 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, Christine Kim can be reached at (571) 272-8458. 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. /EVREN SEVEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2812
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Feb 02, 2024
Application Filed
Jun 16, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12684789
SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE INCLUDING ACTIVE DIODE AREA
2y 8m to grant Granted Jul 14, 2026
Patent 12684765
SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE
2y 8m to grant Granted Jul 14, 2026
Patent 12666712
INTEGRATED CIRCUIT AND METHOD OF FORMING THE SAME
3y 1m to grant Granted Jun 23, 2026
Patent 12666838
Light Emitting Display Device
2y 6m to grant Granted Jun 23, 2026
Patent 12666971
HIGH-FREQUENCY SEMICONDUCTOR PACKAGE
2y 7m to grant Granted Jun 23, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
74%
Grant Probability
82%
With Interview (+8.6%)
2y 3m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 733 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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