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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Applicant Arguments/Remarks, filed 07/29/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claims 1-30 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Wang et al. (US 2024/0429962 A1 herein Wang) in further view of Gorbachov et al. (US 10,608,590 B2 herein Gorbachov).
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1-18, 21-30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang et al. (US 2024/0429962 A1 herein Wang), and further in view of Gorbachov et al. (US 10,608,590 B2 herein Gorbachov).
Regarding claim 1, Wang teaches system for wireless communications, comprising:
a low-noise amplifier (LNA) (read as cascode amplifier 100 may include an low noise amplifier LNA 82) (Wang – Figure 4, Figure 5, [0035], [0037]), comprising:
a first transistor (read as transconductance transistor 104) (Wang – Figure 5, Figure 10, Figure 11, [0037]-[0038]);
a first source inductor coupled to a source of the first transistor (read as source inductor 126 is coupled at the first terminal to the source terminal 116 of the transconductance transistor 104 and coupled at a second terminal to ground 124) (Wang – Figure 5, Figure 10, Figure 11, [0038]);
a second transistor (read as cascode transistor 102) (Wang – Figure 5, Figure 10, Figure 11, [0037]-[0038]), wherein a source of the second transistor is coupled to a drain of the first transistor (read as the source terminal 110 of the cascode transistor 102 is coupled to the drain terminal 112 of the transconductance transistor 104) (Wang – Figure 5, Figure 10, Figure 11, [0037]), a gate of the second transistor (read as gate terminal 108 of the cascode transistor 102) (Wang – Figure 5, Figure 10, Figure 11, [0037]), and a drain of the second transistor (read as drain terminal 106 of the cascode transistor 102) (Wang – Figure 5, [0037]); and
an output inductor (read as output inductor 354) (Wang – Figure 12, [0054]).
However, Wang fails to teach the gate of the second transistor is coupled to a bias circuit; the drain of the second transistor is coupled to an output of the LNA; the output inductor coupled between a supply rail and the output of the LNA, wherein the output inductor is magnetically coupled with the first source inductor.
In the related art, Gorbachov teaches the gate of the second transistor is coupled to a bias circuit (read as the low noise amplifier transistor M1 is simulated with a 1.8V input/output transistor device; the bias voltage applied to the low noise amplifier circuit 46 is 1.8V and there is a direct current consumption of approximately 10 mA) (Gorbachov – column 9 lines 16-27); the drain of the second transistor is coupled to an output of the LNA (read as the output 60 of the low noise amplifier 56b corresponds to the drain 84d of the cascode transistor M2) (Gorbachov – Figure 5, column 10 lines 16-27); the output inductor coupled between a supply rail and the output of the LNA, wherein the output inductor is magnetically coupled with the first source inductor (read as primary inductor L1-1 is connected to the supply voltage VDD 54) (Gorbachov – Figure 3, Figure 5, column 8 lines 16-25).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date the incorporate the teachings of Gorbachov into the teachings of Wang for the purpose of providing a low noise amplifier circuit with improved noise figure and increased gain, thereby having reduced current consumption.
Regarding claim 2 as applied to claim 1, Wang as modified by Gorbachov further teaches wherein the output inductor is arranged next to the first source inductor to achieve a magnetic coupling between the output inductor and the first source inductor (read as inductor L2) (Gorbachov – Figure 3, Figure 5, Figure 9, column 7 lines 42-57).
Regarding claim 3 as applied to claim 1, Wang as modified by Gorbachov further teaches wherein a magnetic coupling coefficient between the output inductor and the first source inductor is between 0.05 and 0.3 (read as coupling between two of the inductors in the cascode amplifier 100 may be facilitated via a determined coupling factor) (Wang – [0043], [0045], [0047], [0055]).
Regarding claim 4 as applied to claim 1, Wang as modified by Gorbachov further teaches wherein the first source inductor is placed next to the output inductor (read as the cascode inductor 118 and the notch inductor 128 may be near one another but not overlapping or intertwined) (Wang – Figure 7, [0048]).
Regarding claim 5 as applied to claim 4, Wang as modified by Gorbachov further teaches wherein at least one side of the first source inductor is adjacent to at least one side of the output inductor (read as cascode inductor 118 and the notch inductor 128 may be near one another but not overlapping or intertwined) (Wang – Figure 7, [0048]).
Regarding claim 6 as applied to claim 1, Wang as modified by Gorbachov further teaches wherein the first source inductor and the output inductor have opposite polarities (read as the coil windings of the gate inductor 136 in the cascode amplifier 250 may be opposite that of the coil windings of the cascode inductor 118, the source inductor 126, and the notch inductor 128) (Wang – Figure 5, [0052]).
Regarding claim 7 as applied to claim 1, Wang as modified by Gorbachov further teaches wherein the first source inductor and the output inductor are weakly magnetically coupled (read as coupling between two of the inductors in the cascode amplifier 100 may be facilitated via a determined coupling factor) (Wang – [0043], [0045], [0047], [0055]).
Regarding claim 8 as applied to claim 1, Wang as modified by Gorbachov further teaches further comprising a filter coupled to a gate of the first transistor (read as the transceiver 14 includes modulation and upconversion circuitry for preparing a baseband information signal for amplification and transmission, and includes filtering and downconversion circuitry for receiving and downconverting a radio frequency signal to a baseband information signal to recover data) (Gorbachov – column 5 lines 43-52).
Regarding claim 9 as applied to claim 8, Wang as modified by Gorbachov further teaches wherein the LNA further comprises a gate inductor coupled between the filter and the gate of the first transistor (read as gate inductor 136 is coupled directly to the gate terminal 114 of the transconductance transistor 104 at a first terminal of the gate inductor 136 and its coupled to the capacitor 134 at a second terminal of the gate inductor 136) (Wang – [0052]).
Regarding claim 10 as applied to claim 1, Wang as modified by Gorbachov further teaches wherein the first source inductor partially overlaps the output inductor (read as overlap between the cascode inductor 118 and the notch inductor 128) (Wang – Figure 7, [0048]).
Regarding claim 11 as applied to claim 1, Wang as modified by Gorbachov further teaches wherein the first source inductor is coupled between the source of the first transistor and a ground (read as source inductor 126 is coupled at a first terminal to the source terminal 116 of the transconductance transistor 104 and coupled at a second terminal to ground 124) (Wang – Figure 5, Figure 10, Figure 11, [0038]).
Regarding claim 12 as applied to claim 1, Wang as modified by Gorbachov further teaches wherein the LNA further comprises: a third transistor, wherein a drain of the third transistor is coupled to the source of the second transistor; and a second source inductor coupled to a source of the third transistor, wherein the output inductor is magnetically coupled with the second source inductor (read as low noise amplifier circuit 46 further incorporates a current mirror circuit that is also connected to the low noise amplifier 56) (Gorbachov – Figure 3, column 7 lines 14-41).
Regarding claim 13 as applied to claim 12, Wang as modified by Gorbachov further teaches wherein the output inductor is arranged next to the second source inductor to achieve a magnetic coupling between the output inductor and the second source inductor (read as cascode inductor 118 and the notch inductor 128 may be near one another but not overlapping or intertwined) (Wang – Figure 7, [0048]).
Regarding claim 14 as applied to claim 12, Wang as modified by Gorbachov further teaches wherein a first magnetic coupling coefficient between the output inductor and the first source inductor is between 0.05 and 0.3, and a second magnetic coupling coefficient between the output inductor and the second source inductor is between 0.05 and 0.3 (read as coupling between two of the inductors in the cascode amplifier 100 may be facilitated via a determined coupling factor) (Wang – [0043], [0045], [0047], [0055]).
Regarding claim 15 as applied to claim 12, Wang as modified by Gorbachov further teaches wherein each of the first source inductor and the second source inductor is placed next to the output inductor (read as cascode inductor 118 and the notch inductor 128 may be near one another but not overlapping or intertwined) (Wang – Figure 7, [0048]).
Regarding claim 16 as applied to claim 15, Wang as modified by Gorbachov further teaches wherein a first side of the output inductor is adjacent to the first source inductor, and a second side of the output inductor is adjacent to the second source inductor (read as cascode inductor 118 and the notch inductor 128 may be near one another but not overlapping or intertwined) (Wang – Figure 7, [0048]).
Regarding claim 17 as applied to claim 16, Wang as modified by Gorbachov further teaches wherein the first side and the second side are opposing sides of the output inductor (read as cascode inductor 118 and the notch inductor 128 may be near one another but not overlapping or intertwined) (Wang – Figure 7, [0048]).
Regarding claim 18 as applied to claim 12, Wang as modified by Gorbachov further teaches wherein the first source inductor and the output inductor have opposite polarities, and the second source inductor and the output inductor have opposite polarities (read as the coil windings of the gate inductor 136 in the cascode amplifier 250 may be opposite that of the coil windings of the cascode inductor 118, the source inductor 126, and the notch inductor 128) (Wang – Figure 5, [0052]).
Regarding claim 21 as applied to claim 12, Wang as modified by Gorbachov further teaches further comprising one or more mixers coupled to the output of the LNA (read as transmitter 52 may include a mixer) (Wang – [0034], [0036]).
Regarding claim 22 as applied to claim 12, Wang as modified by Gorbachov further teaches wherein the first source inductor partially overlaps the output inductor, and the second source inductor partially overlaps the output inductor (read as overlap between the cascode inductor 118 and the notch inductor 128) (Wang – Figure 7, [0048]).
Regarding claim 23 as applied to claim 12, Wang as modified by Gorbachov further teaches wherein the first source inductor is coupled between the source of the first transistor and a ground, and the second source inductor is coupled between the source of the third transistor and the ground (read as overlap between the cascode inductor 118 and the notch inductor 128) (Wang – Figure 7, [0048]).
Regarding claim 24, Wang teaches a system for wireless communications (Wang – Figure 1, [0024], [0027]-[0028]), comprising:
a radio frequency front-end (RFFE) circuit coupled to one or more antennas (read as transceiver 30 may support transmission and reception of various signals via one or more antennas; electronic device 10 may have one or more antennas 55A-55N electronically coupled to the transceiver 30) (Wang – [0029], [0031]) and comprising:
a low-noise amplifier (LNA) (read as cascode amplifier 100 may include an low noise amplifier LNA 82) (Wang – Figure 4, Figure 5, [0035], [0037]), comprising:
a first transistor (read as transconductance transistor 104) (Wang – Figure 5, Figure 10, Figure 11, [0037]-[0038]);
a first source inductor coupled to a source of the first transistor (read as source inductor 126 is coupled at the first terminal to the source terminal 116 of the transconductance transistor 104 and coupled at a second terminal to ground 124) (Wang – Figure 5, Figure 10, Figure 11, [0038]);
a second transistor (read as cascode transistor 102) (Wang – Figure 5, Figure 10, Figure 11, [0037]-[0038]), wherein a source of the second transistor is coupled to a drain of the first transistor (read as the source terminal 110 of the cascode transistor 102 is coupled to the drain terminal 112 of the transconductance transistor 104) (Wang – Figure 5, Figure 10, Figure 11, [0037]), a gate of the second transistor (read as gate terminal 108 of the cascode transistor 102) (Wang – Figure 5, Figure 10, Figure 11, [0037]), and a drain of the second transistor (read as drain terminal 106 of the cascode transistor 102) (Wang – Figure 5, [0037]); and
an output inductor (read as output inductor 354) (Wang – Figure 12, [0054]).
However, Wang fails to teach the gate of the second transistor is coupled to a bias circuit, and the drain of the second transistor is coupled to an output of the LNA; and coupled between a supply rail and the output of the LNA, wherein the output inductor is magnetically coupled with the first source inductor; and a receiver coupled to the output of the LNA.
In the related art, Gorbachov teaches the gate of the second transistor is coupled to a bias circuit (read as the low noise amplifier transistor M1 is simulated with a 1.8V input/output transistor device; the bias voltage applied to the low noise amplifier circuit 46 is 1.8V and there is a direct current consumption of approximately 10 mA) (Gorbachov – column 9 lines 16-27), and the drain of the second transistor is coupled to an output of the LNA (read as the output 60 of the low noise amplifier 56b corresponds to the drain 84d of the cascode transistor M2) (Gorbachov – Figure 5, column 10 lines 16-27); and coupled between a supply rail and the output of the LNA, wherein the output inductor is magnetically coupled with the first source inductor (read as primary inductor L1-1 is connected to the supply voltage VDD 54) (Gorbachov – Figure 3, Figure 5, column 8 lines 16-25); and a receiver coupled to the output of the LNA (read as input 58 is connected to the receiver signal input 50) (Gorbachov – Figure 5, column 9 lines 41-57).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date the incorporate the teachings of Gorbachov into the teachings of Wang for the purpose of providing a low noise amplifier circuit with improved noise figure and increased gain, thereby having reduced current consumption.
Regarding claim 25 as applied to claim 24, Wang as modified by Gorbachov further teaches wherein the output inductor is arranged next to the first source inductor to achieve a magnetic coupling between the output inductor and the first source inductor (read as the cascode inductor 118 and the notch inductor 128 may be near one another but not overlapping or intertwined) (Wang – Figure 7, [0048]).
Regarding claim 26 as applied to claim 24, Wang as modified by Gorbachov further teaches wherein a magnetic coupling coefficient between the output inductor and the first source inductor is between 0.05 and 0.30 (read as coupling between two of the inductors in the cascode amplifier 100 may be facilitated via a determined coupling factor) (Wang – [0043], [0045], [0047], [0055]).
Regarding claim 27 as applied to claim 24, Wang as modified by Gorbachov further teaches wherein the first source inductor partially overlaps the output inductor (read as overlap between the cascode inductor 118 and the notch inductor 128) (Wang – Figure 7, [0048]).
Regarding claim 28, Wang teaches a method for operating a wireless communications system including a low-noise amplifier (LNA) (read as cascode amplifier 100 may include an low noise amplifier LNA 82) (Wang – Figure 4, Figure 5, [0035], [0037]), the LNA comprising a first transistor (read as transconductance transistor 104) (Wang – Figure 5, Figure 10, Figure 11, [0037]-[0038]), a first source inductor coupled to a source of the first transistor (read as source inductor 126 is coupled at the first terminal to the source terminal 116 of the transconductance transistor 104 and coupled at a second terminal to ground 124) (Wang – Figure 5, Figure 10, Figure 11, [0038]), a second transistor (read as cascode transistor 102) (Wang – Figure 5, Figure 10, Figure 11, [0037]-[0038]) coupled between an output of the LNA and a drain of the first transistor (read as the source terminal 110 of the cascode transistor 102 is coupled to the drain terminal 112 of the transconductance transistor 104) (Wang – Figure 5, Figure 10, Figure 11, [0037]), and an output inductor (read as output inductor 354) (Wang – Figure 12, [0054]).
However, Wang fails to teach the output inductor coupled between a supply rail and the output of the LNA, the method comprising: biasing a gate of the second transistor with a bias voltage; receiving a first radio frequency (RF) signal in a first frequency band; inputting the first RF signal to a gate of the first transistor; and magnetically coupling the first source inductor with the output inductor.
In the related art, Gorbachov teaches the output inductor coupled between a supply rail and the output of the LNA (read as primary inductor L1-1 is connected to the supply voltage VDD 54) (Gorbachov – Figure 3, Figure 5, column 8 lines 16-25), the method comprising: biasing a gate of the second transistor with a bias voltage (read as the low noise amplifier transistor M1 is simulated with a 1.8V input/output transistor device; the bias voltage applied to the low noise amplifier circuit 46 is 1.8V and there is a direct current consumption of approximately 10 mA) (Gorbachov – column 9 lines 16-27); receiving a first radio frequency (RF) signal in a first frequency band (read as the transceiver 14 includes modulation and upconversion circuitry for preparing a baseband information signal for amplification and transmission, and includes filtering and downconversion circuitry for receiving and downconverting a radio frequency signal to a baseband information signal to recover data) (Gorbachov – column 5 lines 43-52); inputting the first RF signal to a gate of the first transistor (Gorbachov – column 8 lines 45-67, column 9 lines 1-5); and magnetically coupling the first source inductor with the output inductor (read as primary inductor L1-1 is connected to the supply voltage VDD 54) (Gorbachov – Figure 3, Figure 5, column 8 lines 16-25).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date the incorporate the teachings of Gorbachov into the teachings of Wang for the purpose of providing a low noise amplifier circuit with improved noise figure and increased gain, thereby having reduced current consumption.
Regarding claim 29 as applied to claim 28, Wang as modified by Gorbachov further teaches wherein the output inductor is arranged next to the first source inductor to achieve a magnetic coupling between the output inductor and the first source inductor (read as the cascode inductor 118 and the notch inductor 128 may be near one another but not overlapping or intertwined) (Wang – Figure 7, [0048]).
Regarding claim 30 as applied to claim 28, Wang as modified by Gorbachov further teaches wherein magnetically coupling the first source inductor with the output inductor comprises magnetically coupling the first source inductor with the output inductor with a magnetic coupling coefficient between 0.05 and 0.3 (read as coupling between two of the inductors in the cascode amplifier 100 may be facilitated via a determined coupling factor) (Wang – [0043], [0045], [0047], [0055]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 19-20 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to APRIL GUZMAN GONZALES whose telephone number is (571)270-1101. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:00 am to 4:00 pm EST. The examiner’s email address is april.guzman@uspto.gov.
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/APRIL G GONZALES/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2648
