PTAB

IPR2025-00912

Kangxi Communications Technologies v. Skyworks Solutions Canada Inc

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1. Case Identification

2. Patent Overview

  • Title: MODULE INTEGRATION INTEGRATED CIRCUITS
  • Brief Description: The ’200 patent discloses a compact, multi-die electronic module for radio frequency (RF) front-end applications. The technology addresses challenges in integrating components made from different semiconductor technologies by partitioning a signal conditioning circuit into functional portions and integrating these portions into separate, discrete semiconductor dies that are optimized for each function.

3. Grounds for Unpatentability

Ground 1: Obviousness over Garlepp - Claims 1-2, 4, 10-13, 15, 18-20, 23-26, and 29-31 are obvious over Garlepp.

  • Prior Art Relied Upon: Garlepp (Application # 2003/0017809).
  • Core Argument for this Ground:
    • Prior Art Mapping: Petitioner argued that Garlepp disclosed all limitations of the challenged claims. Garlepp described a multi-die RF transceiver that partitioned a "receive path circuitry"—the first signal conditioning circuit—across two distinct semiconductor dies. Specifically, Garlepp’s analog receive circuitry (a second portion) resided on a second die (801), while its digital receive circuitry (a first portion) resided on a first die (854). This architecture directly mapped to the independent claims’ core limitation of a signal conditioning circuit partitioned across two dies manufactured using different processes. Furthermore, Garlepp disclosed a second signal conditioning circuit (transmitter circuitry) located entirely on the second die, satisfying limitations in dependent claims.
    • Motivation to Combine: As this ground relied on a single reference, the argument centered on inherent obviousness. Petitioner asserted that Garlepp taught the complete partitioned architecture. For limitations not explicitly detailed, such as mounting the dies on a common substrate, Petitioner argued that a person of ordinary skill in the art (POSITA) would have found it obvious to use a substrate for support and interconnection, as this was a conventional and well-known packaging method for multi-chip modules.
    • Expectation of Success: A POSITA would have had a high and predictable expectation of success in implementing Garlepp’s disclosed chipset on a common substrate, as it represented a standard and routine engineering practice for achieving a low-cost, low-form-factor RF solution as described by Garlepp.

Ground 2: Obviousness over Magoon and Ngompe - Claims 1-2, 6, 10-15, 18-20, 23-26, and 29-31 are obvious over Magoon in view of Ngompe.

  • Prior Art Relied Upon: Magoon (a 2002 IEEE journal article) and Ngompe (a 2003 IEEE symposium paper).
  • Core Argument for this Ground:
    • Prior Art Mapping: Petitioner contended that Magoon disclosed a quad-band RF transceiver with a partitioned transmitter path (the first signal conditioning circuit) and a non-partitioned receiver path (the second signal conditioning circuit). Magoon’s transmitter path comprised an on-chip transmit section on a BiCMOS die and an off-chip power amplifier (PA). While Magoon did not specify the PA technology, Ngompe taught a single-package radio module that explicitly used diverse die technologies, combining a BiCMOS transceiver die with a separate Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) PA die on a common substrate to optimize performance. Petitioner argued that combining Magoon's architecture with Ngompe's specific multi-die implementation (using a GaAs die for the PA) would result in the claimed invention.
    • Motivation to Combine: A POSITA would combine Magoon and Ngompe to achieve a high-performance, low-cost, and compact RF module. Both references addressed the same technical challenges in the same field. Notably, authors from both publications worked for Skyworks Solutions, the Patent Owner, strengthening the motivation to combine these complementary teachings. The combination would leverage Magoon’s transceiver architecture with Ngompe’s express teaching of using different, optimized semiconductor technologies (BiCMOS for the transceiver, GaAs for the PA) on a single substrate to improve performance and reduce size.
    • Expectation of Success: The expectation of success would have been high. Applying Ngompe’s multi-chip packaging solution to Magoon’s transceiver was a predictable application of known techniques. The "State of the Art" section of the petition established that partitioning systems into subsystems realized in the most suitable technology (e.g., silicon for logic, GaAs for PAs) was a routine and conventional practice for RF module design.

4. Relief Requested

  • Petitioner requests institution of an inter partes review (IPR) and cancellation of claims 1-2, 4, 6, 10-15, 18-20, 23-26, and 29-31 of the ’200 patent as unpatentable.