Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 22, 2026
Application No. 18/790,264

GATE-ALL-AROUND STRUCTURES AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF

Non-Final OA §112
Filed
Jul 31, 2024
Priority
Apr 09, 2021 — provisional 63/173,139 +1 more
Examiner
RAHMAN, MOHAMMAD A
Art Unit
2898
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
87%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
5m
Est. Remaining
98%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 87% — above average
87%
Career Allowance Rate
503 granted / 577 resolved
+19.2% vs TC avg
Moderate +11% lift
Without
With
+10.6%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 8m
Avg Prosecution
18 currently pending
Career history
610
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
2.7%
-37.3% vs TC avg
§103
46.7%
+6.7% vs TC avg
§102
30.4%
-9.6% vs TC avg
§112
18.7%
-21.3% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 577 resolved cases

Office Action

§112
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 . DETAILED ACTION STATUS OF CLAIMS This office action considers Claims 1-20 pending for prosecution. Priority Acknowledgment is made the instant application is a divisional of US Patent applicantion 17446233 and US Patent applicantion 17446233 claims priority based on provisional application 63173139 filed on 04/09/2021. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 The following is a quotation of the second paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112: 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 1-20 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention. Claim 1 recites: “forming a second set of source/drains between stacks of the second set of stacks” and “forming a second set of top spacers between source/drains of the second set of source/drains and stacks of the second set of stacks”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for these limitations in the claim. Claims 2-8 depend from claim 1. Claim 9 recites: “forming a second set of source/drains between stacks of the second set of stacks” and “forming a second set of top spacers between source/drains of the second set of source/drains and stacks of the second set of stacks”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for these limitations in the claim. Claims 10-16 depend from claim 9. Claim 17 recites: “forming a second set of source/drains between stacks of the second set of stacks” and “forming a second set of top spacers between source/drains of the second set of source/drains and stacks of the second set of stacks”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for these limitations in the claim. Claims 18-20 depend from claim 17. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MOHAMMAD A. RAHMAN whose telephone number is (571) 270-0168 and email is mohammad.rahman5@uspto.gov. The examiner can normally be reached on Mon-Fri 8:00-5:00 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, Julio J. Maldonado can be reached on (571) 272-1864. 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 https://ppair-my.uspto.gov/pair/PrivatePair. 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. /MOHAMMAD A RAHMAN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2898
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jul 31, 2024
Application Filed
Oct 16, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

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3y 6m to grant Granted Oct 06, 2026
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3y 4m to grant Granted Oct 06, 2026
Patent 12757376
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2y 5m to grant Granted Oct 06, 2026
Patent 12745509
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3y 1m to grant Granted Sep 22, 2026
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4y 7m to grant Granted Sep 15, 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
87%
Grant Probability
98%
With Interview (+10.6%)
2y 8m (~5m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 577 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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