Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 21, 2026
Application No. 19/023,360

CIRCUIT SUBSTRATE AND METHOD FOR FABRICATING THE SAME

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Jan 16, 2025
Priority
Jan 30, 2024 — provisional 63/626,542 +1 more
Examiner
NG, SHERMAN
Art Unit
2847
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Industrial Technology Research Institute
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
76%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
6m
Est. Remaining
92%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 76% — above average
76%
Career Allowance Rate
411 granted / 542 resolved
+7.8% vs TC avg
Strong +17% interview lift
Without
With
+16.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 4m
Avg Prosecution
7 currently pending
Career history
549
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.6%
-39.4% vs TC avg
§103
60.6%
+20.6% vs TC avg
§102
31.4%
-8.6% vs TC avg
§112
4.1%
-35.9% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 542 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 . Priority Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in present Application No. 19/023,360 filed on 01/16/2025. Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for provisional priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(e). The provisional application being filed 01/30/2024, as Application No. 63/626,542. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statements filed 01/16/2025 and 09/17/2025 have been submitted for consideration by the Office. They have been placed in the application file and the information referred to therein have been considered. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 4, 5, 7-11 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. 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, 6, 12-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Chiang et al. (US 2016/0049359). Regarding claim 1, Chiang discloses (in Fig. 2F, 2G, 2H) a circuit substrate [2], comprising: a glass substrate [20] (See paragraph 0044: “In the present embodiment, the substrate body 20 is a silicon-containing plate, for example, a silicon wafer or a glass substrate.”) having a through hole [200] (See Fig. 2B and paragraph 0050: “a plurality of conductive posts 25 are formed in the through holes 200.”); a conductive post [25] located in the through hole [200] (See paragraph 0050: “a plurality of conductive posts 25 are formed in the through holes 200.”); and a dielectric layer [22] (See paragraph 0048: insulating layer 22) located in the through hole [200], wherein the conductive post [25] is separated from the glass substrate [20] by the dielectric layer [22]. Regarding claim 2, Chiang, as applied to claim 1, further discloses (in Fig. 2F) wherein the dielectric layer [22] comprises: a first dielectric portion [The first dielectric portion is the vertical portion of dielectric layer 22 that is contacting the conductive post 25 inside the through hole 200] located in the through hole [200] (See Fig. 2B and paragraph 0050: “a plurality of conductive posts 25 are formed in the through holes 200.”) to separate the conductive post [25] and the glass substrate [20]; and a second dielectric portion [The second dielectric portion is the horizontal portion of dielectric layer 22 that is disposed between the glass substrate 20 and the conductive pad 26] covering a top surface of the first dielectric portion [The first dielectric portion is the vertical portion of dielectric layer 22 that is contacting the conductive post 25 inside the through hole 200] and a top surface of the glass substrate [20]. Regarding claim 3, Chiang, as applied to claim 2, further discloses (in Fig. 2F, 2G, 2H) wherein a height of the conductive post [25] is greater than a thickness of the glass substrate [20]. Regarding claim 6, Chiang, as applied to claim 1, further discloses (in Fig. 2F, 2G, 2H) wherein the dielectric layer [22] comprises a first dielectric portion [The first dielectric portion is the vertical portion of dielectric layer 22 that is contacting the conductive post 25 inside the through hole 200], and the first dielectric portion [The first dielectric portion is the vertical portion of dielectric layer 22 that is contacting the conductive post 25 inside the through hole 200] is located in the through hole (See Fig. 2B and paragraph 0050: “a plurality of conductive posts 25 are formed in the through holes 200.”) to separate the conductive post [25] and the glass substrate [20]. Regarding claim 12, Chiang discloses a method for fabricating a circuit substrate (See Fig. 1H), comprising: forming a through hole [100] in a glass substrate [10], wherein the glass substrate [10] has a crack (See paragraph 0017: “Further, since the conductive pads 16 and the conductive posts 15 are fabricated in different processes, an interface will be formed between the conductive pads 16 and the conductive posts 15. As such, delamination or cracking easily occurs between the conductive pads 16 and the conductive posts 15.”) located around the through hole [100]; forming a conductive layer [13] in the through hole [100] of the glass substrate [10] to repair the crack; and forming a first dielectric portion [The first dielectric portion is the vertical portion of dielectric layer 12 that is contacting the conductive layer 13 inside the through hole 100] in the through hole [100] of the glass substrate [10]. Regarding claim 13, Chiang, as applied to claim 12, further discloses (in Fig. 1H) forming a first surface conductive layer [13’], wherein the first surface conductive layer [13’] covers a top surface of the first dielectric portion [The first dielectric portion is the vertical portion of dielectric layer 12 that is contacting the conductive layer 13 inside the through hole 100] and a top end of the conductive layer [13]; and forming a second dielectric portion [The second dielectric portion is the horizontal portion of dielectric layer 12 that is disposed between the glass substrate 10 and the conductive layer 13’] on the top surface of the first dielectric portion [The second dielectric portion is the horizontal portion of dielectric layer 12 that is disposed between the glass substrate 10 and the conductive layer 13’] and a top surface of the glass substrate [10]. Regarding claim 14, Chiang, as applied to claim 13, further discloses (in Fig. 1H) further comprising: forming a second surface conductive layer [The conductive portion of the RDL structure 11], wherein the second surface conductive layer [The conductive portion of the RDL structure 11] covers a bottom surface of the first dielectric portion [The first dielectric portion is the vertical portion of dielectric layer 12 that is contacting the conductive layer 13 inside the through hole 100] and a bottom end of the conductive layer [13]; and forming a third dielectric portion [The insulating portion of the RDL structure 11] on a bottom surface of the glass substrate [10]. Communication Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHERMAN NG whose telephone number is (571)270-3131. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 10AM-6PM. 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, Timothy Thompson can be reached at 5712722342. 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. /SHERMAN NG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2847
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jan 16, 2025
Application Filed
Sep 29, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12772380
CIRCUIT SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR RADAR, LIDAR, OR CAMERA SYSTEMS
2y 2m to grant Granted Oct 20, 2026
Patent 12772381
CORNER SHIELD PROTECTION FOR SURFACE MOUNT DEVICES
2y 1m to grant Granted Oct 20, 2026
Patent 12772379
GLASS SUBSTRATE, THROUGH-ELECTRODE, MULTILAYER WIRING SUBSTRATE, AND GLASS SUBSTRATE MANUFACTURING METHOD
2y 1m to grant Granted Oct 20, 2026
Patent 12764863
CIRCUIT BOARD, MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF, AND ELECTRONIC COMPONENT PACKAGE INCLUDING THE SAME
2y 11m to grant Granted Oct 13, 2026
Patent 12763246
MAGNETIC DEVICE
2y 3m to grant Granted Oct 13, 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
76%
Grant Probability
92%
With Interview (+16.7%)
2y 4m (~6m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 542 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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