Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 18/920,190

DELAY OF INITIALIZATION AT MEMORY DIE

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Oct 18, 2024
Priority
Oct 25, 2021 — divisional of 12/131,040
Examiner
TRAN, ANTHAN
Art Unit
2825
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Micron Technology Inc.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
83%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
4m
Est. Remaining
85%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 83% — above average
83%
Career Allowance Rate
648 granted / 781 resolved
+15.0% vs TC avg
Minimal +2% lift
Without
With
+2.4%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 3m
Avg Prosecution
22 currently pending
Career history
804
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.4%
-38.6% vs TC avg
§103
52.6%
+12.6% vs TC avg
§102
35.2%
-4.8% vs TC avg
§112
4.4%
-35.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 781 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 . Election/Restrictions Applicant's election with traverse of Species I in the reply filed on 08/14/2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that there is no serious burden to examine the entire application. This is not found persuasive because claim 18 is independent and comprises distinguished limitations of fabricating a plurality of memory dies, and programming the respective arrays of fuses of the plurality of memory dies with a respective delay state for initialization of each of the plurality of memory dies asynchronously.. The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL. Information Disclosure Statement IDS filed on 10/18/2024 is fully considered. 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 1-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Choi et al. (US Pub. 2018/0150100). Regarding claim 1, Fig. 2 and Fig. 4 of Choi discloses a method, comprising: receiving [by memory device 20, Fig. 1], by a memory device [20, Fig. 1], signaling indicative of a command [CMD, Fig. 1] to initialize a plurality of memory dies of the memory device [command signal CMD sends to memory device to start a memory operation including a initialization of an operation]; and delaying [by circuit 700, Fig. 4], at a memory die [Fig. 4 is a delaying circuit of a memory die, of a plurality of memory dies as shows in Fig. 2] of the plurality of memory dies [CHIP0 to CHIP3] and based at least in part on fuse states of an array of fuses [fuse storages at 600, Fig. 4] of the memory die, initialization of the memory die by an amount of time relative to receipt of the signaling by the memory device [amount of delaying time of an initialization operation of a memory operation is relative to a command signal CMD because circuit 200 receives the CMD signal to generate PAT_WT and PAT_RD to generate delaying signal DLY_CODE, which is used by circuit 600 and 700 to generate a delayed signal]. Regarding claim 2, Fig. 2 and Fig. 4 of Choi discloses further comprising delaying, at a different memory die [Fig. 2 of Choi shows 4 different dies (CHIP0 to CHIP3, and each die has a delaying circuit as shows in Fig. 4] of the plurality of memory dies and based at least in part on fuse states [fuse states of storage 600, Fig. 4] of a different array of fuses of the different memory die, initialization of the different memory die by a different amount of time, relative to receipt of the signaling by the memory device [amount of delaying time of an initialization operation of a memory operation is relative to a command signal CMD because circuit 200 receives the CMD signal to generate PAT_WT and PAT_RD to generate delaying signal DLY_CODE, which is used by circuit 600 and 700 to generate a delayed signal]. Regarding claim 3, Fig. 4 of Choi discloses further comprising delaying, at a different memory die of the plurality of memory dies and based at least in part on fuse states of a different array of fuses of the different memory die [each die in Fig. 2 has a fuses 600 as shows in Fig. 4], initialization of the different memory die by the amount of time subsequent to initialization of the memory die [delaying time is adjusted by circuit 700 for memory operations including an initialization of a memory operation]. Regarding claim 4, Fig. 4 of Choi discloses wherein delaying the initialization of the memory die comprises programming the array of fuses so as to cause providing signaling associated with the initialization of the memory die to be delayed by the amount of time relative to receipt of the signaling by the memory device [fuse storage 600 is programmed to store delaying information]. Regarding claim 5, Fig. 4 of Choi discloses apparatus, comprising: a plurality of memory dies [CHIP0 to CHIP3, Fig. 2] each including a respective array of fuses [600, Fig. 4] and respective initialization circuitry [200]; and a pin [CMD pin, Fig. 4] configured to receive signaling [CMD] indicative of a command to initialize the plurality of memory dies [CMD is to control to start a memory operation]; wherein the respective array of fuses [600, Fig. 4] is configured to cause a respective delay in providing the command [CMD] to the respective initialization circuitry by a respective amount of time relative to receipt of the command at the pin [amount of delaying time of an initialization operation of a memory operation is relative to a command signal CMD because circuit 200 receives the CMD signal to generate PAT_WT and PAT_RD to generate delaying signal DLY_CODE, which is used by circuit 600 and 700 to generate a delayed signal]. Regarding claims 6, 7, Fig. 4 of Choi discloses wherein the respective amount of time for at least one of the plurality of memory dies is different [each die has different delaying circuit as shows in Fig. 4. The delaying time is depending con CMD signal and PATs and PAT. Therefore, each die delaying is different]. Regarding claim 8, Fig. 4 of Choi discloses wherein the respective delay is based at least in part on fuse states [fuse states in circuit 600 controls delaying time generates by circuit 700] of the respective arrays of fuses. Regarding claim 9, Fig. 2 and Fig. 4 of Choi discloses wherein a first subset of the plurality of memory dies [CHIP0 in Fig. 2] is coupled to a first command path [first path shows in Fig. 4] and a second subset of the plurality of memory dies [CHIP1] is coupled to a second command path [similar path as shows in Fig. 4]; wherein a first array of fuses [600, Fig. 4] of a first memory die [CHIP0] coupled to the first command path is configured to cause the respective delay of a first amount of time [amount of delay is relative to CMD, PAT, and fuse storage 600]; wherein a second array of fuses [each die has a circuit similar to 4. Therefore, the second die CHIP1 also has a second circuit as shows in Fig. 4] of a second memory die coupled to the first command path is configured to cause the respective delay of a second amount of time [second die can be configured to have second delay]. Regarding claims 10 and 11, Fig. 4 of Choi discloses wherein a third array of fuses [600 Fig. 4, for CHIP2 in Fig. 2] of a third memory die [CHIP2] coupled to the second command path [similar to Fig. 4] is configured to cause the respective delay of the first amount of time; wherein a fourth array of fuses of a fourth memory die [CHIP3] coupled to the second command path [similar to Fig. 4] is configured to cause the respective delay of the second amount of time [can be the same as the first amount of time]. Regarding claim 12, Fig. 4 of Choi discloses wherein the first subset comprises a first rank of a channel of a memory device [CHIP0, Fig. 2], and wherein the second subset comprises a second rank of the channel of the memory device [different channel for CHIP1]. Regarding claim 13, Fig. 2 of Choi discloses wherein the pin comprises a reset pin [CSE0]. Regarding claim 14, Fig. 2 of Choi discloses wherein the command comprises a reset command [CMDE]. Regarding claim 15, Fig. 2 of Choi discloses wherein the command comprises a powerup command [CSE]. Regarding claim 16, Fig. 1 of Choi discloses wherein the apparatus comprises a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) module [paragraph 0003]. Regarding claim 17, Fig. 2 of Choi discloses wherein the plurality of memory dies [CHIP0 to CHIP3] correspond to a channel of a memory device [channel connects to DQE]. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANTHAN T TRAN whose telephone number is (571)272-8709. The examiner can normally be reached MON-FRI, 9AM-5:00PM. 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 G Sofocleous can be reached at 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 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. /ANTHAN TRAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2825
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Prosecution Timeline

Oct 18, 2024
Application Filed
Sep 04, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

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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
83%
Grant Probability
85%
With Interview (+2.4%)
2y 3m (~4m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 781 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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