Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 17, 2026
Application No. 18/761,077

SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE AND A METHOD OF FABRICATING THE SAME

Non-Final OA §112
Filed
Jul 01, 2024
Priority
Dec 29, 2016 — provisional 62/440,081 +4 more
Examiner
CRAWFORD EASON, LATANYA N
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
78%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
7m
Est. Remaining
79%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 78% — above average
78%
Career Allowance Rate
730 granted / 931 resolved
+18.4% vs TC avg
Minimal +0% lift
Without
With
+0.5%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 8m
Avg Prosecution
43 currently pending
Career history
971
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.4%
-39.6% vs TC avg
§103
54.3%
+14.3% vs TC avg
§102
31.1%
-8.9% vs TC avg
§112
11.1%
-28.9% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 931 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. 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 17-20 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 17 recites the limitation "the second well " in line 8 . There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 1-12 are allowed. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The closest prior art of record, Hu et al (US Pub no. 2017/0221821 A1) and Matthews (5108945), fails to teach: a second well having a second conductivity type different than the first conductivity type disposed over the first well; an interlayer dielectric layer disposed over the second well; and first diffusion regions formed in the second well. Claims 13-16 are allowed. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The closest prior art of record, Hu et al (US Pub no. 2017/0221821 A1) and Matthews (5108945), fails to teach wherein the second resistor overlaps the one or more second diffusion regions in the well region. 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

Jul 01, 2024
Application Filed
Jul 15, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12707768
DISPLAY DEVICE
3y 9m to grant Granted Aug 11, 2026
Patent 12701717
SEMICONDUCTOR MEMORY DEVICE
3y 10m to grant Granted Aug 04, 2026
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
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
78%
Grant Probability
79%
With Interview (+0.5%)
2y 8m (~7m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 931 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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