Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/518,368

PANEL LEVEL FABRICATION OF STACKED ELECTRONIC DEVICE PACKAGES WITH ENCLOSED CAVITIES

Non-Final OA §112
Filed
Nov 22, 2023
Examiner
TYNES JR., LAWRENCE C
Art Unit
2899
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
NXP Semiconductors N.V.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
85%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
94%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 85% — above average
85%
Career Allowance Rate
666 granted / 781 resolved
+17.3% vs TC avg
Moderate +9% lift
Without
With
+8.9%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 4m
Avg Prosecution
25 currently pending
Career history
811
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.4%
-39.6% vs TC avg
§103
65.5%
+25.5% vs TC avg
§102
7.6%
-32.4% vs TC avg
§112
23.2%
-16.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 781 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 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. Claims 9-18,20 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 9 recites the limitation "the molding material". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claim 9 would be allowable if the “the molding material” were claimed as “a molding material. Regarding claim 9, the references of the Prior Art of record and considered pertinent to the applicant's disclosure and to the examiner’s knowledge does not teach or render obvious, at least to the skilled artisan, the instant invention regarding: " …including a first aperture disposed above a first portion of the first circuit substrate; …and molding material that at least partially surrounds the first interposer substrate.”, as recited in Claim 9, with the remaining features. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 1-8,19 are allowed. The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance, which paraphrases and summarizes the claimed invention without intending to be limiting, wherein the legally defined scope of the claimed invention is defined by the allowed claims themselves in view of the written description under 35 USC 112. This statement is not intended to necessarily state all the reasons for allowance or all the details why the claims are allowed and has not been written to specifically or impliedly state that all the reasons for allowance are set forth (MPEP 1302.14). US-20160013151-A1 discloses a substrate comprising mold filled dicing channels on an interposer. US-20250079402-A1 discloses forming a dicing channel through the second substrate and filling it with molding material , then dicing the package all the way through the first substrate. US-20240099030-A1 discloses etching through a molding material between chips and through an interposer and first substrate. US-20120126402-A1 discloses etching through a molding material between chips and through a substrate. US-20080217709-A1 discloses a package comprising a first substrate 112, an interposer 114, and a cover116 on the interposer. The package is singulated by etching through the interposer 114. US-20210134690-A1 discloses a package comprising an interposer with apertures on a first substrate, a cover on the interposer, and molding surrounding the interposer. US-20200402942-A1 discloses partially etching through a second substrate, filling the hole with molding material and singulating the package through the molding material which remains on outside surfaces of the second substrate. The art is silent on the limitations cited below in combination with the rest of the claimed limitations. Regarding claim 1, the references of the Prior Art of record and considered pertinent to the applicant's disclosure and to the examiner’s knowledge does not teach or render obvious, at least to the skilled artisan, the instant invention regarding: " dispensing a molding material in the channels in the second substrate panel such that aperture in the first interposer substrate is surrounded by the molding material…”, as recited in Claim 1, with the remaining features. Regarding claim 19, the references of the Prior Art of record and considered pertinent to the applicant's disclosure and to the examiner’s knowledge does not teach or render obvious, at least to the skilled artisan, the instant invention regarding: " wherein each singulated assembly further includes a portion of the molding material in the channels that pass through the second substrate panel that remains after dicing through the channels; and wherein the molding material electrically isolates electrically conductive structures of the first interposer substrate.”, as recited in Claim 19, with the remaining features. 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 LAWRENCE C TYNES JR. whose telephone number is (571)270-7606. The examiner can normally be reached 9AM-5PM. 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, Zandra Smith can be reached at 571-272-2429. 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. /LAWRENCE C TYNES JR./Examiner, Art Unit 2899
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Nov 22, 2023
Application Filed
Apr 16, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12685235
FINE PITCH CHIP INTERCONNECT STRUCTURE FOR BUMP BRIDGE AND HIGH TEMPERATURE STORAGE IMPROVEMENT AND METHODS FOR FORMING THE SAME
4y 3m to grant Granted Jul 14, 2026
Patent 12684786
SEMICONDUCTOR PACKAGE AND METHOD OF FABRICATING THE SAME
3y 4m to grant Granted Jul 14, 2026
Patent 12677684
SEMICONDUCTOR PACKAGE
3y 2m to grant Granted Jul 07, 2026
Patent 12677582
METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING ORGANIC SEMICONDUCTOR ELEMENT
2y 8m to grant Granted Jul 07, 2026
Patent 12672559
LOW INSERTION LOSS COAXIAL THROUGH-HOLE FOR HIGHSPEED INPUT-OUPUT
4y 0m to grant Granted Jun 30, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

Strategy Recommendation AI-generated — please review before filing

Get a prosecution strategy drawn from examiner precedents, rejection analysis, and claim mapping.
Typically takes 5-10 seconds — AI-generated, attorney review required before filing

Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
85%
Grant Probability
94%
With Interview (+8.9%)
2y 4m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 781 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance 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