Technology areas: Chemistry & Materials • Semiconductors, Circuits & Optics
154 pending office actions • 51 art units • 123 examiners • 0 of 154 (0%) have an AI response strategy ready • 213 patents granted in the last 365 days
Lam Research Corporation has 154 pending office actions in Chemistry & Materials. The matters involve 123 distinct examiners and 50 distinct art units, indicating broad examiner distribution with substantial recurrence at the technical-group level. The art-unit structure can support coordinated management of related matters, while the examiner count requires careful matter-level tracking.
FORD, NATHAN K is the busiest examiner, with 5 pending matters. That relationship provides an identifiable point for examiner-specific analysis, including review of response patterns and recurring claim issues. Because the remainder of the docket is broadly distributed, centralized prosecution standards should remain the foundation of portfolio management.
Based on the USPTO statutory response window for each pending office action. 30 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. 30 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 only | 1 (1%) |
| §101 + other | 1 (1%) |
| §103 only | 71 (46%) |
| §102 only | 9 (6%) |
| §112 only | 6 (4%) |
| Double-patenting only | 4 (3%) |
| Double-patenting + other | 5 (3%) |
| Multi-statute (no §101) | 54 (35%) |
| No statute on record | 3 (2%) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| FORD, NATHAN K | 5 | 32.6% | +35.2% |
| TADAYYON ESLAMI, TABASSOM | 4 | 49.4% | +26.4% |
| REYES, JOSHUA NATHANIEL PI | 3 | 42.3% | +50.5% |
| SWEELY, KURT D | 3 | 52.5% | +34.2% |
| BENNETT, CHARLEE | 3 | 58.8% | +35.1% |
| CHEN, KEATH T | 3 | 30.2% | +24.7% |
| ALEJANDRO MULERO, LUZ L | 3 | 47.9% | +39.7% |
| PHAM, THAI N | 2 | 78.0% | +20.3% |
| LE, TUNG X | 2 | 87.0% | +3.3% |
| CHEN, BRET P | 2 | 84.5% | +16.3% |
Cases in front of an examiner with an allow rate of 80%+ where the difficulty is Easy or Medium. The top 2 ordered by deadline are shown.
| App # | Title | Examiner | Due in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19122236 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR FAST CONTROL OF IMPEDANCE ASSOCIATED WITH AN OUTPUT OF A PLASMA SOURCE | LE, TUNG X | — |
| 19110207 | LAYERED METAL OXIDE-SILICON OXIDE FILMS | CHEN, BRET P | — |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17631984 | EDGE RING SYSTEMS FOR SUBSTRATE PROCESSING SYSTEMS | MOORE, KARLA A | 150d overdue |
| 18017208 | THIN SHADOW RING FOR LOW-TILT TRENCH ETCHING | FORD, NATHAN K | 99d overdue |
| 18034834 | SUBSTRATE PROCESSING SYSTEM TOOLS FOR MONITORING, ASSESSING AND RESPONDING BASED ON HEALTH INCLUDING SENSOR MAPPING AND TRIGGERED DATALOGGING | BAHLS, JENNIFER E. S. | 35d overdue |
| 17927328 | DISTRIBUTED PLASMA SOURCE ARRAY | ALEJANDRO MULERO, LUZ L | 30d overdue |
| 17921930 | BLENDED CONTACT FINGERS FOR PREVENTING CRACKS DURING THIN SUBSTRATE HANDLING | CONTRERAS, CIEL P | 28d overdue |
| 17429909 | ELECTROSTATIC CHUCK WITH POWDER COATING | DINH, TUAN T | 19d overdue |
| 17671211 | MOVEABLE EDGE RINGS WITH REDUCED CAPACITANCE VARIATION FOR SUBSTRATE PROCESSING SYSTEMS | MCCONNELL, AARON R | 16d overdue |
| 18854240 | NONCONFORMAL OXIDE FILM DEPOSITION USING CARBON-CONTAINING INHIBITOR | TADAYYON ESLAMI, TABASSOM | 10d overdue |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18017208 | THIN SHADOW RING FOR LOW-TILT TRENCH ETCHING | FORD, NATHAN K | 99d overdue |
| 17800168 | PLANAR MULTI-LAYER RADIO FREQUENCY FILTERS INCLUDING STACKED COILS WITH STRUCTURAL CAPACITANCE | ALEJANDRO MULERO, LUZ L | 44d overdue |
| 17927328 | DISTRIBUTED PLASMA SOURCE ARRAY | ALEJANDRO MULERO, LUZ L | 30d overdue |
| 17904005 | COOLING PLATE FOR SEMICONDUCTOR PROCESSING CHAMBER WINDOW | FORD, NATHAN K | 29d overdue |
| 18854240 | NONCONFORMAL OXIDE FILM DEPOSITION USING CARBON-CONTAINING INHIBITOR | TADAYYON ESLAMI, TABASSOM | 10d overdue |
| 18493614 | DEPOSITING A CARBON HARDMASK BY HIGH POWER PULSED LOW FREQUENCY RF | CHEN, KEATH T | 10d overdue |
| 18035200 | PEDESTAL INCLUDING SEAL | CHEN, KEATH T | 3d overdue |
| 17915573 | EDGE RING FOR LOCALIZED DELIVERY OF TUNING GAS | REYES, JOSHUA NATHANIEL PI | 14d |
| Art Unit | Apps |
|---|---|
| 1716 | 19 |
| 1718 | 19 |
| 1713 | 12 |
| 2845 | 7 |
| 2893 | 6 |
| 1717 | 4 |
| 2812 | 4 |
| 1712 | 4 |
| 3723 | 4 |
| 3753 | 4 |
| App # | Title | Examiner | Art Unit | Statutes | Status | Due in | AI | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19393253 | TAPERED UPPER ELECTRODE FOR UNIFORMITY CONTROL IN PLASMA PROCESSING | CHAN, LAUREEN | 1716 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 18, 2025 |
| 19310794 | METHOD OF CLEANING CHAMBER COMPONENTS WITH METAL ETCH RESIDUES | ZHANG, RICHARD Z | 1714 | §103§112Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 26, 2025 |
| 19246617 | ELECTROSTATIC EDGE RING MOUNTING SYSTEM FOR SUBSTRATE PROCESSING | PHAM, THAI N | 2844 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 23, 2025 |
| 19124236 | SELECTIVE MOLYBDENUM FILL | TADAYYON ESLAMI, TABASSOM | — | §102§103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Apr 24, 2025 |
| 19186588 | Systems and Methods for Use of Low Frequency Harmonics in Bias Radiofrequency Supply to Control Uniformity of Plasma Process Results Across Substrate | LAM, TUAN THIEU | 2836 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 22, 2025 |
| 19122236 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR FAST CONTROL OF IMPEDANCE ASSOCIATED WITH AN OUTPUT OF A PLASMA SOURCE | LE, TUNG X | 2845 | §102 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 17, 2025 |
| 19120431 | REFRACTORY COMPONENTS FOR A SEMICONDUCTOR PROCESSING CHAMBER | CHRISTY, KATHERINE A | 1784 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 11, 2025 |
| 19120426 | COMPONENT WITH A DUAL LAYER HERMETIC ATOMIC LAYER DEPOSITION COATINGS FOR A SEMICONDUCTOR PROCESSING CHAMBER | PHAM, THAI N | 2845 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 11, 2025 |
| 19119730 | CHEMICAL VAPOR DEPOSITION OF SILICON NITRIDE USING A REMOTE PLASMA | DAGENAIS, KRISTEN A | 1717 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 09, 2025 |
| 19096252 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR MULTI-LEVEL PULSING IN RF PLASMA TOOLS | HERNANDEZ, WILLIAM | 2836 | §102 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Mar 31, 2025 |
| 19115192 | GENERATION OF SYNTHETIC SEMICONDUCTOR IMAGES | PATEL, SHIVANG I | 2615 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Mar 25, 2025 |
| 19110207 | LAYERED METAL OXIDE-SILICON OXIDE FILMS | CHEN, BRET P | 1718 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Mar 10, 2025 |
| 19053940 | ATOMIC LAYER ETCHING FOR SUBTRACTIVE METAL ETCH | DUCLAIR, STEPHANIE P. | 1713 | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Feb 14, 2025 |
| 19102604 | PLASMA-EXPOSED PARTS COMPRISING AN ETCH-RESISTANT MATERIAL | CHAN, WEI | 2845 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Feb 10, 2025 |
| 19100497 | CONDUCTIVE BACKSIDE LAYER FOR BOW MITIGATION | COMBER, KEVIN J | 2812 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 31, 2025 |
| 19042816 | PEDESTAL THERMAL PROFILE TUNING USING MULTIPLE HEATED ZONES AND THERMAL VOID | WEDDLE, ALEXANDER MARION | 1712 | §102§103DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 31, 2025 |
| 18881608 | IMPROVED PEDESTALS FOR SUBSTRATE PROCESSING SYSTEMS | NEJAD, MAHDI H | 3723 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 06, 2025 |
| 18881084 | MULTI-PLENUM GAS MANIFOLDS FOR SUBSTRATE PROCESSING SYSTEMS | LUONG, HENRY T | 2845 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 03, 2025 |
| 18880670 | END EFFECTOR | LU, WILLIAM | 2624 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 02, 2025 |
| 19002171 | SUBSTRATE PROCESSING APARATUSES WITH ROTATING MECHANISMS INCLUDING SHAFTS WITH GAS FLOW PATHS | WILSON, LEE D | 3723 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Dec 26, 2024 |
| 18877152 | ISOLATION VALVE | ROST, ANDREW J | 3753 | §102§103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Dec 19, 2024 |
| 18983038 | JOINING TECHNIQUES FOR COMPOSITE CERAMIC BODIES | WILLIAMS, JOSEPH L | 2875 | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Dec 16, 2024 |
| 18871372 | CHUCKING SYSTEM WITH SILANE COUPLING AGENT | SREEVATSA, SREEYA | 2838 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Dec 03, 2024 |
| 18959448 | HEAT AND VOLATILE-ORGANIC-COMPOUNDS DETECTING SYSTEMS | KIM, KIHO | — | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 25, 2024 |
| 18955355 | LONG-LIFE EXTENDED TEMPERATURE RANGE EMBEDDED DIODE DESIGN FOR ELECTROSTATIC CHUCK WITH MULTIPLEXED HEATERS ARRAY | BERHANE, ADOLF D | 2838 | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 21, 2024 |
| 18866767 | CUSTOMIZING ETCH SELECTIVITY AND HIGH ASPECT RATIO FEATURE LOADING THROUGH MULTI-LEVEL PULSING SCHEMES UTILIZING SINUSOIDAL AND CUSTOM RF WAVEFORMS | SATHIRAJU, SRINIVAS | 1713 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 18, 2024 |
| 18948444 | DUAL-FREQUENCY, DIRECT-DRIVE INDUCTIVELY COUPLED PLASMA SOURCE | LEE, WILSON | 2845 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 14, 2024 |
| 18859433 | ORGANOCHLORIDE ETCH WITH PASSIVATION AND PROFILE CONTROL | DUCLAIR, STEPHANIE P. | 1713 | §103§112DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 23, 2024 |
| 18856864 | LATERAL GAP FILL | TADAYYON ESLAMI, TABASSOM | 1718 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Oct 14, 2024 |
| 18854240 | NONCONFORMAL OXIDE FILM DEPOSITION USING CARBON-CONTAINING INHIBITOR | TADAYYON ESLAMI, TABASSOM | 1718 | §102§103§112 | Final Rejection | 10d overdue | Pending | Oct 04, 2024 |
| 18907429 | TOOL AND METHOD FOR CHANDELIER SHOWERHEAD INSTALLATION | CIGNA, JACOB JAMES | 3726 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 04, 2024 |
| 18902729 | TEMPERATURE MONITORING | KAO, CHIH CHENG G | 2884 | §112Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 30, 2024 |
| 18847683 | REDUCING CAPACITANCE IN SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES | MCCLURE, CHRISTINA D | 1718 | §103 | Final Rejection | 77d overdue | Pending | Sep 17, 2024 |
| 18847308 | FEEDBACK CONTROL SYSTEMS FOR IMPEDANCE MATCHING | FERNANDEZ, PEDRO C | 2844 | §103 | Non-Final OA | 24d overdue | Pending | Sep 16, 2024 |
| 18847652 | LOW-K DIELECTRIC PROTECTION DURING PLASMA DEPOSITION OF SILICON NITRIDE | GAMBETTA, KELLY M | 1718 | §103 | Non-Final OA | 23d overdue | Pending | Sep 16, 2024 |
| 18846216 | SPATIALLY TUNABLE INDUCTIVELY COUPLED PLASMA ANTENNA | LE, TUNG X | 2845 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 11, 2024 |
| 18846229 | FAST ATOMIC LAYER ETCH | TRAN, BINH X | 1713 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 11, 2024 |
| 18844917 | SPARK PLASMA SINTERED COMPONENT FOR CRYO-PLASMA PROCESSING | RIVERA, JOSHEL | 1746 | §102 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 06, 2024 |
| 18813749 | MODEL-BASED SCHEDULING FOR SUBSTRATE PROCESSING SYSTEMS | PATEL, JIGNESHKUMAR C | 2116 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 23, 2024 |
| 18840339 | APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR REDUCING WAFER BACKSIDE DAMAGE | SREEVATSA, SREEYA | 2838 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 21, 2024 |
| 18811234 | CHILLER MAKE-BREAK CONNECTOR FOR SUBSTRATE PROCESSING SYSTEMS | MYERS, GLENN F | 3652 | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 21, 2024 |
| 18840453 | THERMAL FILM DEPOSITION | TADAYYON ESLAMI, TABASSOM | 1718 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 21, 2024 |
| 18840069 | ATOMIC LAYER ETCHING USING AN INHIBITOR | LU, JIONG-PING | 1713 | §102 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 20, 2024 |
| 18839177 | SELECTIVE PRECISION ETCHING OF SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIALS | DEO, DUY VU NGUYEN | 1713 | §102§103DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 16, 2024 |
| 18806234 | SEMICONDUCTOR SUBSTRATE BEVEL CLEANING | GOLIGHTLY, ERIC WAYNE | 1714 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 15, 2024 |
| 18800410 | HIGH POWER ELECTROSTATIC CHUCK WITH FEATURES PREVENTING HE HOLE LIGHT-UP/ARCING | REYES, JOSHUA NATHANIEL PI | 1718 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 12, 2024 |
| 18837560 | LOW RESISTANCE MOLYBDENUM DEPOSITION FOR LOGIC SOURCE/DRAIN CONTACTS | CHEN, BRET P | 1718 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | 22d | Pending | Aug 09, 2024 |
| 18836734 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR REDUCING VARIABILITY IN FEATURES OF A SUBSTRATE | ALANKO, ANITA KAREN | 1713 | §102Other | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Aug 07, 2024 |
| 18796246 | HIGH ETCH SELECTIVITY, LOW STRESS ASHABLE CARBON HARD MASK | JONES, ERIC W | — | Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 06, 2024 |
| 18836104 | RF ASSEMBLY FOR SUBSTRATE PROCESSING SYSTEMS | KIM, SEOKJIN | 2845 | §102 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 06, 2024 |
IP Author helps IP teams respond to office actions faster with AI-generated responses, examiner analytics, and prosecution intelligence.
Start Free TrialLam Research Corporation has 154 pending office actions as of October 2026, spread across 51 art units and 123 examiners.
Nathan K Ford has the most, with 5 of Lam Research Corporation's pending office actions.
Mostly Chemistry & Materials (USPTO Tech Center 1700), based on where its pending office actions are examined.
