Prosecution Insights
Last updated: August 18, 2026
Application No. 18/779,409

SEMICONDUCTOR PACKAGE

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Jul 22, 2024
Priority
Aug 08, 2023 — RE 10-2023-0103446
Examiner
ANYA, IGWE U
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
85%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
5m
Est. Remaining
80%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 85% — above average
85%
Career Allowance Rate
809 granted / 953 resolved
+24.9% vs TC avg
Minimal -5% lift
Without
With
+-4.8%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 6m
Avg Prosecution
20 currently pending
Career history
964
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.4%
-38.6% vs TC avg
§103
50.9%
+10.9% vs TC avg
§102
36.4%
-3.6% vs TC avg
§112
7.0%
-33.0% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 953 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 § 102 The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action: A person shall be entitled to a patent unless – (a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claims 1, 3 – 4 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Park et al. (US 2009/0107701). PNG media_image1.png 465 639 media_image1.png Greyscale (Claim 1) Park et al. teach a semiconductor package comprising: a package substrate (10) including upper pads (12) disposed at an upper portion of the package substrate; a solder resist layer (16) disposed on the package substrate, the solder resist layer having a plurality of openings (openings for #32, openings for #18) exposing the upper pads; a first adhesive layer (18 up to the height coplanar with 16, 18 up to the height coplanar with 12) disposed in at least a portion of an opening of the plurality of openings; a semiconductor chip (30) disposed on the first adhesive layer; a second adhesive layer (18 from height coplanar with 12 to the underside of 30) disposed between the first adhesive layer and the semiconductor chip; and a conductive member (32) electrically connecting at least one of the upper pads (12) and the semiconductor chip (30) to each other. (Claim 3) Park et al. teach wherein an upper surface of the first adhesive layer (18 up to the height coplanar with 16) is at a level that is the same as that of an upper surface of the solder resist layer (16). (Claim 4) Park et al. teach wherein an upper surface of the first adhesive layer (18 up to the height coplanar with 12) is at a level that is lower than that of an upper surface of the solder resist layer (16). (Claim 12) Park et al. teach wherein the first adhesive layer includes an underfill material (paragraph 47). Claims 13, 14 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Park et al. (US 2005/0093179). PNG media_image2.png 305 556 media_image2.png Greyscale (Claim 13) Andoh teaches a semiconductor package comprising: a package substrate (40) including upper pads (32a) and insulating layers (30-1) disposed at an upper portion of the package substrate; a solder resist layer (34a, 34C) disposed on a first surface of the package substrate, the solder resist layer having a first opening (opening of #44) exposing an upper surface of at least one upper pad (32a) and a second opening (opening between P” and Q”) exposing at least a portion of an upper surface of the insulating layer (30-1), the second opening having a width wider than that of the first opening; a first adhesive layer (paragraph 37, #26 below/up to a height coplanar with the top of 34C) disposed in the second opening, the first adhesive layer (26 up to the height coplanar with the top of 34C) covering the upper surface of the insulating layer (30-1) exposed in the second opening, the first adhesive layer (26 up to the height coplanar with the top of 34C) in contact with the solder resist layer (34c); a second adhesive layer (the remainder of #26 from first adhesive layer) disposed on the first adhesive layer; and a semiconductor chip (24) disposed on the second adhesive layer, the semiconductor chip (24) electrically connected to a redistribution layer (40-1 – 40-3) through the at least one upper pad (32a) exposed by the first opening. (Claim 14) Andoh teaches wherein an upper surface of the first adhesive layer is at a level (height coplanar with the top of 34C) that is the same as that of an upper surface of the solder resist layer. (Claim 16) Andoh teaches wherein an upper surface of the first adhesive layer is at a level (height below the top of 34C) that is lower than that of an upper surface of the solder resist layer. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 2, 5 – 11 and 15 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. Claims 17 – 20 are allowable, because prior art does not render obvious: (Claim 17) a second adhesive layer disposed between the first adhesive layer and the semiconductor chip, the second adhesive layer having a second coefficient of thermal expansion, lower than the first coefficient of thermal expansion. Conclusion Prior art made of record and not relied upon, considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure are listed in PTO – 892 Form. Contact Information Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to IGWE U ANYA whose telephone number is (571)272-1887. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00 AM - 6:00 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, Matthew Landau can be reached at (571) 272- 1731. 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. /IGWE U ANYA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2891 July 15, 2026
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jul 22, 2024
Application Filed
Jul 21, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12707701
TRENCH POWER DEVICE WITH ENHANCED CHARGE CARRIER MOBILITY
3y 8m to grant Granted Aug 11, 2026
Patent 12701742
SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE
3y 5m to grant Granted Aug 04, 2026
Patent 12696513
Work-Function Metal in Transistors and Method Forming Same
4y 2m to grant Granted Jul 28, 2026
Patent 12696587
DISPLAY DEVICE AND METHOD OF FABRICATING THE SAME
3y 9m to grant Granted Jul 28, 2026
Patent 12696481
FIELD-EFFECT TRANSISTORS WITH SELF-ALIGNED P-SHIELD CONTACTS
3y 5m to grant Granted Jul 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
85%
Grant Probability
80%
With Interview (-4.8%)
2y 6m (~5m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 953 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