Prosecution Insights
Prosecution Insights
Technology areas: Communications • Semiconductors, Circuits & Optics
37 pending office actions • 14 art units • 29 examiners • 0 of 37 (0%) have an AI response strategy ready • 64 patents granted in the last 365 days
FEI Company currently manages a substantial portfolio of 38 pending office actions within the Semiconductors, Circuits & Optics technology area. These 38 actions are distributed across 15 distinct art units, reflecting a broad range of technical subject matter. The involvement of 30 distinct examiners highlights a decentralized prosecution environment for the company.
CHOI, JAMES J is the busiest examiner for this portfolio, currently managing 4 pending office actions. This figure of 4 actions is the maximum load for any single examiner assigned to the company's cases. With 30 distinct examiners handling 38 pending office actions, most examiners are responsible for only one or two files, though CHOI, JAMES J has a higher concentration with 4.
The presence of 15 distinct art units suggests that the 38 pending office actions are subject to a wide array of internal patent office policies and examination styles. Practitioners should be prepared for a fragmented experience, as the high number of 30 distinct examiners limits the opportunity to develop consistent rapport with any small group of officials. The 4 pending office actions assigned to CHOI, JAMES J represent the most significant point of examiner contact in this extensive set.
Based on the USPTO statutory response window for each pending office action. 10 of the docket's apps have a known mailing date; the rest are excluded from the tile counts.
Every pending office action with a known statutory deadline, placed on a days-until-due axis. Dots left of Today are overdue; the further right, the more runway. Cases that share a deadline window stack vertically. 10 of the docket's apps have a known mailing date.
Difficulty is derived from the rejection statutes on the most recent pending office action. §101-driven and multi-statute cases are graded Hard; §112-only and obviousness-type double-patenting cases are graded Easy; everything else is Medium. "Unknown" means we have not yet parsed a statute for that office action.
| Bucket | Cases |
|---|---|
| §101 + other | 3 (8%) |
| §103 only | 11 (30%) |
| §102 only | 1 (3%) |
| Double-patenting only | 1 (3%) |
| Double-patenting + other | 1 (3%) |
| Multi-statute (no §101) | 20 (54%) |
How the docket's pending cases split across USPTO tech-center bands.
Manual office-action response work runs about 10 hours per case. The time-saved bands below show what IP Author's prosecution pipeline typically delivers — a conservative 20% on the low end, 35% in the middle, 50% on the high end.
| Examiner | Apps on this docket | Allow rate | Interview lift |
|---|---|---|---|
| CHOI, JAMES J | 4 | 67.9% | +45.0% |
| SMITH, DAVID E | 2 | 85.2% | +7.0% |
| MCCORMACK, JASON L | 2 | 84.6% | +8.1% |
| SMYTH, ANDREW P | 2 | 71.7% | +14.5% |
| LEE, EUNICE SOMIN | 2 | 88.9% | +25.7% |
| WANG, JING | 2 | 100.0% | +0.0% |
| MERCADO, RAMON A | 1 | 81.1% | +18.8% |
| COOMBER, KEVIN M | 1 | 84.2% | +21.2% |
| ZAKARIA, AKM | 1 | 82.6% | +16.1% |
| RIDER, JUSTIN W | 1 | 84.2% | +12.1% |
Cases in front of an examiner with an allow rate of 80%+ where the difficulty is Easy or Medium. The top 4 ordered by deadline are shown.
| App # | Title | Examiner | Due in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18747753 | LARGE LANGUAGE MODEL ASSISTANCE FOR CHARGED-PARTICLE MICROSCOPE OPERATION | LEE, EUNICE SOMIN | 31d overdue |
| 18747764 | LARGE LANGUAGE MODEL ASSISTANCE FOR CHARGED-PARTICLE MICROSCOPE OPERATION | LEE, EUNICE SOMIN | 28d overdue |
| 18950590 | CLASS NEIGHBORHOOD GRAPH GENERATION FOR LAMELLA MILLING | MERCADO, RAMON A | — |
| 18667077 | SCANNING DEFLECTOR | SMITH, DAVID E | — |
Multi-statute / §101-driven matters, or cases in front of an examiner with an allow rate under 30%. The top 8 ordered by deadline are shown.
| App # | Title | Examiner | Due in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17823661 | Automated Selection And Model Training For Charged Particle Microscope Imaging | BEZUAYEHU, SOLOMON G | 9d overdue |
| 17957445 | DATA TRIAGE IN MICROSCOPY SYSTEMS | SHARIFF, MICHAEL ADAM | 27d |
| 17989550 | Method Of Imaging And Milling A Sample | MCCORMACK, JASON L | 55d |
| 18955676 | TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPE WITH VARIABLE EFFECTIVE FOCAL LENGTH | CHOI, JAMES J | — |
| 18939092 | K-DISTANCE TREE METROLOGY | COOMBER, KEVIN M | — |
| 18934034 | TECHNIQUES FOR ELECTRICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF LOGICAL CELLS IN INTEGRATED CIRCUIT TESTING SYSTEMS | ZAKARIA, AKM | — |
| 18913013 | TEXT-CONDITIONED ANOMALY DETECTION FOR CHARGED-PARTICLE MICROSCOPY IMAGES | RIDER, JUSTIN W | — |
| 18904532 | BEAM ALIGNMENT AND SYNCHRONIZATION IN MICROSCOPY | SMITH, DAVID E | — |
Cases in front of an examiner whose interview lift is 10 percentage points or more — i.e. interviewed cases historically resolve more favorably than non-interviewed ones. The top 8 ordered by deadline are shown.
| App # | Title | Examiner | Due in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18747753 | LARGE LANGUAGE MODEL ASSISTANCE FOR CHARGED-PARTICLE MICROSCOPE OPERATION | LEE, EUNICE SOMIN | 31d overdue |
| 18747764 | LARGE LANGUAGE MODEL ASSISTANCE FOR CHARGED-PARTICLE MICROSCOPE OPERATION | LEE, EUNICE SOMIN | 28d overdue |
| 17957171 | CHARGED PARTICLE MICROSCOPE HAVING VACUUM IN SPECIMEN CHAMBER | CHOI, JAMES J | 28d |
| 18955676 | TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPE WITH VARIABLE EFFECTIVE FOCAL LENGTH | CHOI, JAMES J | — |
| 18950590 | CLASS NEIGHBORHOOD GRAPH GENERATION FOR LAMELLA MILLING | MERCADO, RAMON A | — |
| 18939092 | K-DISTANCE TREE METROLOGY | COOMBER, KEVIN M | — |
| 18934034 | TECHNIQUES FOR ELECTRICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF LOGICAL CELLS IN INTEGRATED CIRCUIT TESTING SYSTEMS | ZAKARIA, AKM | — |
| 18913013 | TEXT-CONDITIONED ANOMALY DETECTION FOR CHARGED-PARTICLE MICROSCOPY IMAGES | RIDER, JUSTIN W | — |
| Art Unit | Apps |
|---|---|
| 2881 | 7 |
| 2878 | 5 |
| 2656 | 2 |
| 2674 | 2 |
| 1713 | 2 |
| 3658 | 1 |
| 2858 | 1 |
| 2486 | 1 |
| 1794 | 1 |
| 2884 | 1 |
| App # | Title | Examiner | Art Unit | Statutes | Status | Due in | AI | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18955676 | TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPE WITH VARIABLE EFFECTIVE FOCAL LENGTH | CHOI, JAMES J | — | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 21, 2024 |
| 18950590 | CLASS NEIGHBORHOOD GRAPH GENERATION FOR LAMELLA MILLING | MERCADO, RAMON A | 3658 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 18, 2024 |
| 18939092 | K-DISTANCE TREE METROLOGY | COOMBER, KEVIN M | — | §101§102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 06, 2024 |
| 18934034 | TECHNIQUES FOR ELECTRICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF LOGICAL CELLS IN INTEGRATED CIRCUIT TESTING SYSTEMS | ZAKARIA, AKM | 2858 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 31, 2024 |
| 18913013 | TEXT-CONDITIONED ANOMALY DETECTION FOR CHARGED-PARTICLE MICROSCOPY IMAGES | RIDER, JUSTIN W | 2486 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 11, 2024 |
| 18904532 | BEAM ALIGNMENT AND SYNCHRONIZATION IN MICROSCOPY | SMITH, DAVID E | — | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 02, 2024 |
| 18888100 | BETA TILT SAMPLE HOLDER | MCCORMACK, JASON L | — | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 17, 2024 |
| 18828805 | METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR ELEMENTAL MAPPING | LOGIE, MICHAEL J | — | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 09, 2024 |
| 18813381 | TEM GRIDS WITH LIQUID SPREADING LANES | SMYTH, ANDREW P | — | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 23, 2024 |
| 18797255 | PARTICLE-INDUCED X-RAY EMISSION (PIXE) USING HYDROGEN AND MULTI-SPECIES FOCUSED ION BEAMS | IPPOLITO, NICOLE MARIE | — | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 07, 2024 |
| 18767485 | REDUCED BOERSCH EFFECT IN DISPERSIVE OPTICS | KALISZEWSKI, ALINA ROSE | 2881 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 09, 2024 |
| 18747753 | LARGE LANGUAGE MODEL ASSISTANCE FOR CHARGED-PARTICLE MICROSCOPE OPERATION | LEE, EUNICE SOMIN | 2656 | §103 | Final Rejection | 31d overdue | Pending | Jun 19, 2024 |
| 18747764 | LARGE LANGUAGE MODEL ASSISTANCE FOR CHARGED-PARTICLE MICROSCOPE OPERATION | LEE, EUNICE SOMIN | 2656 | §103DP | Final Rejection | 28d overdue | Pending | Jun 19, 2024 |
| 18734069 | DETECTING AND ADJUSTING LAMELLA DEFORMATION | BRAYTON, JOHN JOSEPH | 1794 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 05, 2024 |
| 18731712 | Method and System for Sample Preparation | SMYTH, ANDREW P | — | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 03, 2024 |
| 18667077 | SCANNING DEFLECTOR | SMITH, DAVID E | — | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 17, 2024 |
| 18660569 | SPLIT-COLUMN ACCELERATION TUBE FOR SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPE | WANG, JING | 2881 | §102§103§112 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | May 10, 2024 |
| 18658470 | METHOD FOR CONFIRMING AND FINDING AN IONIZATION EDGE WITHIN A MEASURED EELS SPECTRUM | LUCK, SEAN M | 2878 | §102 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | May 08, 2024 |
| 18656163 | CLASSIFYING MICROSCOPIC COMPONENTS OF PHYSICAL SAMPLES | TRAN, DUY ANH | 2674 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 06, 2024 |
| 18624852 | SITU PROTECTIVE POLYMER VIA MILLING-EXCITATION | REMAVEGE, CHRISTOPHER | 1713 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 02, 2024 |
| 18617387 | AIRLESS TRANSFER AND ELECTRICAL TESTING OF SOLID STATE BATTERIES IN SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPES | WANG, JING | 2881 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Mar 26, 2024 |
| 18612557 | ION BEAM COLUMN ION SPECIES MEASUREMENT | LI, LARRY | 2881 | §103§112 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Mar 21, 2024 |
| 18690613 | APPARATUS FOR MOVING SAMPLE HOLDERS | MUI, CHRISTINE T | — | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Mar 08, 2024 |
| 18392097 | Detectors For Microscopy | FAYE, MAMADOU | 2884 | §103 | Final Rejection | 23d overdue | Pending | Dec 21, 2023 |
| 18510047 | INCREASING INFORMATION RESULTING FROM APODIZATION | KOETH, MICHELLE M | 2671 | §103 | Final Rejection | 50d overdue | Pending | Nov 15, 2023 |
| 18509205 | IN-VACUUM CHAMBER CONTROLLED-GAS-FILM DEVICE TO REDUCE LASER ABLATION REDEPOSITS | CHANG, HANWAY | 2878 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Nov 14, 2023 |
| 18506957 | MINIMIZATION OF ENERGY SPREAD IN FOCUSED ION BEAM (FIB) SYSTEMS | GASSEN, CHRISTOPHER J | 2881 | §102§103§112 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Nov 10, 2023 |
| 18504000 | METHOD OF PREPARING A CRYOGENIC SAMPLE WITH IMPROVED COOLING CHARACTERISTICS | BANKS, KEONA LAUREN | 3763 | §103 | Non-Final OA | 18d overdue | Pending | Nov 07, 2023 |
| 18369967 | DELAYERING APPARATUS AND METHODS | ZERVIGON, RUDY | 1713 | §102§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 19, 2023 |
| 18448430 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PREPARING A SPECIMEN | GOURLIE, LAURA ELOISE | 2881 | §103 | Final Rejection | 6d | Pending | Aug 11, 2023 |
| 18362207 | ENERGY DISPERSIVE X-RAY SPECTROSCOPY PHASE SPECTRUM SYNTHESIS | BRYANT, CHRISTIAN THOMAS | 2857 | §101§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 31, 2023 |
| 17989550 | Method Of Imaging And Milling A Sample | MCCORMACK, JASON L | 2881 | §102§103 | Final Rejection | 55d | Pending | Nov 17, 2022 |
| 17957171 | CHARGED PARTICLE MICROSCOPE HAVING VACUUM IN SPECIMEN CHAMBER | CHOI, JAMES J | 2878 | §103 | Final Rejection | 28d | Pending | Sep 30, 2022 |
| 17958174 | Dynamic Data Driven Detector Tuning for Improved Investigation of Samples in Charged Particle Systems | CHOI, JAMES J | 2878 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 30, 2022 |
| 17957445 | DATA TRIAGE IN MICROSCOPY SYSTEMS | SHARIFF, MICHAEL ADAM | 2672 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | 27d | Pending | Sep 30, 2022 |
| 17948531 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR AUTOMATED GRID VALIDATION | CHOI, JAMES J | 2878 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Sep 20, 2022 |
| 17823661 | Automated Selection And Model Training For Charged Particle Microscope Imaging | BEZUAYEHU, SOLOMON G | 2674 | §101§103 | Final Rejection | 9d overdue | Pending | Aug 31, 2022 |
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