Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 25, 2026
Application No. 18/437,266

Gate Driving Circuit for Wide Bandgap (WBG) Power Devices

Non-Final OA §112
Filed
Feb 09, 2024
Examiner
TORRES RUIZ, JOHALI ALEJANDRA
Art Unit
2859
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute Company Limited
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
54%
Grant Probability
Moderate
1-2
OA Rounds
10m
Est. Remaining
78%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 54% of resolved cases
54%
Career Allowance Rate
326 granted / 598 resolved
-13.5% vs TC avg
Strong +24% interview lift
Without
With
+23.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 6m
Avg Prosecution
25 currently pending
Career history
634
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.5%
-38.5% vs TC avg
§103
65.0%
+25.0% vs TC avg
§102
16.6%
-23.4% vs TC avg
§112
13.0%
-27.0% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 598 resolved cases

Office Action

§112
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 Objections Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: Claim 1 recites the limitation “capacitance of WBG power semiconductor” in Line 32. Claim 1, Line 32 should recite: capacitance of the WBG power semiconductor. Appropriate correction is required. 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 1-20 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. Claim 1 recites the limitation “the WBG power semiconductor device” in Lines 14, 15-16, 23-24, 26, 29-30, and 33-34. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. In addition, the limitation includes the acronym “WBG” not previously defined. Claim 1 recites the limitation “a wide bandgap power device” in Line 1. It appears the limitation of Claim 1, Lines 14, 15-16, 23-24, 26, 29-30, and 33-34 is referring to the limitation found on Claim 1, Line 1. The examiner suggests Claim 1, Line 1 recite: a wide bandgap (WBG) power semiconductor device. Claims 2-20 are rejected under 112(b) as they inherit the deficiencies of Claim 1 as identified above. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: Kobayashi (US 2024/0356541) discloses a gate drive circuit comprising a resistor (RgOn) (Fig.3A) forming a charging path and a resistor (RgOff) forming a discharging path (Par.49). Nagatomi et al. (US 2022/0345128) discloses a gate driver separate charge and discharge paths (Par.80) (Fig.2B). Koyama et al. (US 2020/0220534) discloses a gate drive circuit (Fig.1) including a first resistor (5), a second resistor (6), a first inductor (10), and a second inductor (11) (Par.31). Cyr et al. (US 2014/0321178) discloses diodes to protect the transistors of a gate drive (Par.39). Tao et al. (US 2013/0162322) discloses a circuit (104), comprising a diode and a Zener diode (Par.33), coupled to a gate of a semiconductor device (Fig.10). Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOHALI ALEJANDRA TORRES RUIZ whose telephone number is (571)270-1262. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10:00am-6:00pm. 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, Julian D Huffman can be reached at 571-272-2147. 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. /JOHALI A TORRES RUIZ/Examiner, Art Unit 2859 /JULIAN D HUFFMAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2859
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Feb 09, 2024
Application Filed
Apr 02, 2024
Response after Non-Final Action
Oct 15, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112 (current)

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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
54%
Grant Probability
78%
With Interview (+23.7%)
3y 6m (~10m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 598 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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