Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/540,314

CAPACITIVE NOISE COMPENSATION FOR A READ BITLINE IN A MACHINE MEMORY

Non-Final OA §112
Filed
Dec 14, 2023
Examiner
BRASWELL, DONALD H.B.
Art Unit
2825
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
NVIDIA Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
82%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1m
Est. Remaining
94%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 82% — above average
82%
Career Allowance Rate
357 granted / 435 resolved
+14.1% vs TC avg
Moderate +12% lift
Without
With
+11.8%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 9m
Avg Prosecution
31 currently pending
Career history
461
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.0%
-39.0% vs TC avg
§103
78.3%
+38.3% vs TC avg
§102
8.9%
-31.1% vs TC avg
§112
3.5%
-36.5% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 435 resolved cases

Office Action

§112
DETAILED ACTION This action is responsive to the response filed 9Sep 2024 and the Information Disclosure Statement filed 31Jan 2024. Claims ZZZ are pending. Claims XXX are independent. Notice of 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 . Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 9Sep2022 is acknowledged. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner. Drawings The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “single finger of poly” of claim 6 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112(a) The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a): (a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention. Claim 6 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. In particular, Claim 6 has the limitation of “single finger of poly”. This quoted limitation is not a standard term used in the art, nor is the “single finger of poly” described in any form or fashion within the specification. Even the term “poly” cannot be realistically traced to the standard term “polysilicon” without a written description or definition of the term “poly”. In this particular case, the reference Chuang has been used to teach a “finger trench capacitor 104” which is described in Chuang’s paragraph [0023]. Allowable Subject Matter Claim(s) XXX 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. OR Claims 1and31 (renumbered as claims 1-23) are allowed. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DONALD H.B. BRASWELL whose telephone number is (469)295-9119. The examiner can normally be reached on 7-5 Central Time (Dallas). 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, Alexander Sofocleous can be reached (571) 272-0635. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /Donald HB Braswell/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2825
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Dec 14, 2023
Application Filed
Jun 02, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12682965
FLASH MEMORY REDUCING PROGRAM RISING TIME AND PROGRAM METHOD THEREOF
2y 8m to grant Granted Jul 14, 2026
Patent 12682958
MEMORY DEVICE AND METHOD OF ERASURE OPERATIONS USING GIDL AND NEGATIVE WORDLINE VOLTAGES
2y 2m to grant Granted Jul 14, 2026
Patent 12682954
PRECHARGING METHOD AND PROGRAMMING METHOD FOR SELECTED AND UNSELECTED SUB-BLOCKS OF 3D MEMORY STRINGS IN A DEVICE
2y 2m to grant Granted Jul 14, 2026
Patent 12676199
MEMORY DEVICE PERFORMING LEAKAGE DETECTION OPERATION
2y 5m to grant Granted Jul 07, 2026
Patent 12676195
SEMICONDUCTOR MEMORY DEVICE
2y 0m to grant Granted Jul 07, 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
82%
Grant Probability
94%
With Interview (+11.8%)
2y 9m (~1m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 435 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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