Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/556,695

METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING SUBSTRATE AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Oct 23, 2023
Priority
Oct 05, 2021 — nonprovisional of PCTJP2021036864
Examiner
CRAWFORD EASON, LATANYA N
Art Unit
2813
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
78%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
79%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 78% — above average
78%
Career Allowance Rate
726 granted / 927 resolved
+10.3% vs TC avg
Minimal +0% lift
Without
With
+0.3%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 8m
Avg Prosecution
27 currently pending
Career history
966
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.3%
-39.7% vs TC avg
§103
83.4%
+43.4% vs TC avg
§102
10.6%
-29.4% vs TC avg
§112
3.7%
-36.3% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 927 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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 . Election/Restrictions Applicant’s election without traverse of claims 6-8 in the reply filed on 4/8/2026 is acknowledged. Claims 1-5 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 4/8/2026. 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. Claim(s) 6-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nishimoto (JP 2005072454 A) in view of Soda (US Pub no. 2007/0338189 A1). Regarding claim 6, Nishimoto et al discloses A method comprising: immersing a substrate(wiring board-1) on which a plurality of circuit patterns (7)(pp. para 4;pp 13 para 1)are formed in pure water(pp. 24 para 1 lines 7-20) ; applying voltage between the plurality of circuit patterns (7) in a state in which the substrate (1) is immersed in the pure water (pp. 24 para 1 lines 7-20- immersed in distilled water 23C,exposed to high-humidity, & applying voltage of 5.5V); determining the substrate to be a defective product when a tree(copper ion migration- defect) is generated in the plurality of circuit patterns (7)due to the voltage application(pp. 24 para 1 lines 20-22-defective; pp 26 para 1-copper ion migration detected)and determining the substrate (1-wiring board) to be a non-defective product when the tree is not generated(no migration pp. 10 para 4; pp 25 para 1-3; pp. 26para 1-3;pp. 27 para 1) but fails to teach a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device comprising mounting a semiconductor chip on the substrate determined to be a non-defective product. However, Matsumoto et al discloses a radiofrequency module including a GaN based IC chip (111) mounted on a mount board 9[0050] fig. 2. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Nishimoto et al with the teachings of Matsumoto et al such that a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device comprising mounting a semiconductor chip on the substrate determined to be a non-defective product. Results to improve the mounting reliability of the chip with a wiring board having excellent transmission characteristics at high frequencies. Regarding claim 7, Matsumoto et al discloses wherein the semiconductor chip(111) is made with wide bandgap semiconductor (GaN based IC chip)[0050]. Regarding claim 8, Matsumoto et al discloses wherein the wide bandgap semiconductor gallium-nitride-based material(GaN based IC chip)[0050]. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LATANYA N CRAWFORD EASON whose telephone number is (571)270-3208. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:30 AM-4:30 PM. 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, Steven B Gauthier can be reached at (571)270-0373. 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. /LATANYA N CRAWFORD EASON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2813
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Oct 23, 2023
Application Filed
May 12, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12672400
DISPLAY DEVICE
3y 8m to grant Granted Jun 30, 2026
Patent 12642008
MEMORY DEVICE AND SEMICONDUCTOR DIE
4y 0m to grant Granted May 26, 2026
Patent 12641932
Display Device
3y 6m to grant Granted May 26, 2026
Patent 12628485
LIGHT-EMITTING CHIP STRUCTURE, DISPLAY DEVICE, AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING DISPLAY DEVICE
2y 9m to grant Granted May 12, 2026
Patent 12615883
NANOROD LIGHT EMITTING ELEMENT AND DISPLAY DEVICE INCLUDING THE SAME
3y 6m to grant Granted Apr 28, 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
78%
Grant Probability
79%
With Interview (+0.3%)
2y 8m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 927 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