DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1 through 13 originally filed 23 December 2021. By amendment received 27 November 2024; claims 1, 6, and 10 are amended. By amendment received 18 November 2025; claims 1 and 10 are amended. By amendment received 9 April 2026; claims 1, 7, and 10 are amended and claim 6 is cancelled. Claims 1 through 5 and 7 through 13 are addressed by this 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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 9 April 2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments have been fully considered; they are addressed below.
Applicant argues that the drawing objections under 37 CFR 1.84(u)(1) are improper because, according to applicant, Figure 2 is not subject to the requirements of 37 CFR 1.84(u)(1). To support this argument, applicant contends that what is depicted in Figure 2 is not subject to the requirements of 37 CFR 1.84(u)(1) because it is not a "view" and that the graphs of Figure 2 are governed by 37 CFR 1.84(p)(2) instead.
Applicant's argument is not persuasive because all figures are views. Particularly, 37 CFR 1.84(u) governs the numbering of views by requiring that views numbers must be consecutive Arabic numerals, starting with 1, and must be preceded by the abbreviation "FIG.". Further, 37 CFR 1.84(u)(2) states that numbers and letters identifying views must not be used in association with brackets. These requirements of 37 CFR 1.84(u) are reflected in the requirements of 37 CFR 1.84(p)(1) relating to the formatting of reference characters, sheet numbers, and view numbers. While 37 CFR 1.84(p)(2) also applies to the drawings, there is nothing in this section that specifically controls how graphs are labeled. Finally, applicant identifies the graphs as views by labeling them "FIG. 2(a)" and "FIG. 2(b)" Since applicant labels these argued graphs as views, the numbering of these graphs is governed by the requirements on numbering views set forth in 37 CFR 1.84(u). As such, this argument is not persuasive.
The objections to the drawings is maintained. Applicant's argument that Figure 2 is not subject to the requirements of 37 CFR 1.84(u)(1) is not persuasive because all figures are views.
Applicant argues that the amendments to claims 1 and 10 define these claims over the cited prior art.
Applicant's argument is not persuasive. A review of the previously cited art indicates that Hirata (US Patent 4,888,784) renders these features obvious in view of the previously cited art. As such, the rejection has been altered to address these amended limitations (see below).
As such, all claims are addressed as follows:
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(u)(1).
Figure 2 includes multiple views that are not separately labeled. Each view must be individually labeled.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as "amended." If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either "Replacement Sheet" or "New Sheet" pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 1 through 5 and 7 through 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Matsumura (US Pub. 2009/0086779), in view of Strassburg et al. (Strassburg, US Pub. 2010/0207100), in view of Hirata (US Patent 4,888,784), and further in view of Brick et al. (Brick, US Pub. 2011/0182317).
Regarding claim 1, Matsumura discloses, "An inverted junction disposed above the tunnel junction" (p. [0024], [0025], and Fig. 2B, pts. 6a, 8a, 10a, and 12a, where the junction formed by layers 8a, 10a, and 12a are an inverted junction as defined). "Wherein the inverted junction comprises a p-type waveguiding layer formed on the p-type cladding layer" (p. [0024] and Fig. 3B, pts. 4 and 8a). "An active region disposed on the formed p-type waveguiding layer" (p. [0019] and Fig. 3B, pts. 8a and 10a). "An n-type waveguiding layer formed on the active region" (p. [0025] and Fig. 3B, pts. 10a and 12a). "An n-type cladding layer formed on the n-type waveguiding layer" (p. [0025] and Fig. 3B, pts. 12a and 14a). "A first n-type ohmic contact coupled to the n-type cladding layer" (p. [0015] and Fig. 3H, pts. 14a, 22, and 24). "A second n-type ohmic contact coupled to the bottom major surface of the n-type… substrate" (p. [0022] and Fig. 3H, pts. 2a and 26a). "Wherein the n-type cladding layer is formed to include a ridge structure" (p. [0032] and Fig. 3B, pts. 5 and 14a). Matsumura does not explicitly disclose, "A tunnel junction formed on the top major of the… substrate." "Wherein a p-type cladding layer is formed on the tunnel junction." Strassburg discloses, "A tunnel junction formed on the top major of the… substrate" (p. [0060] and Fig. 1, pts. 3 and 4, where contact layer 3 of Strassburg corresponds to the substrate 2 of Matsumura when these features are combined). "Wherein a p-type cladding layer is formed on the tunnel junction" (p. [0073] and Fig. 1, pts. 4 and 5). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Matsumura with the teachings of Strassburg. In view of the teachings of Matsumura regarding a laser device that includes a lower tunnel junction, the alternate configuration of the device to position the tunnel junction beneath the lower cladding layer as taught by Strassburg would enhance the teachings of Matsumura by allowing the interaction between the propagating mode and the tunnel junction to be reduced.
The combination of Matsumura and Strassburg does not explicitly disclose, "An n-type GaAs substrate having a top major surface and an opposing bottom major surface." "[The ridge structure] for both of current confinement and confinement of an optical mode field in an area above the active region." "Wherein the first n-type ohmic contact is disposed only on top of the ridge structure." Hirata discloses, "An n-type GaAs substrate having a top major surface and an opposing bottom major surface" (col. 4, lines 60-64 and Fig. 1, pt. 10). "[The ridge structure] for both of current confinement and confinement of an optical mode field in an area above the active region" (col. 3, lines 12-15, col. 5, lines 58-62, and Fig. 1, pt. 20a). "Wherein the first n-type ohmic contact is disposed only on top of the ridge structure" (col. 5, lines 49-53 and Fig. 1, pts. 22 and 26, where the conductivity of the ridge and ohmic contact is n-type when the device is doped as in Matsumura). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of the combination of Matsumura and Strassburg with the teachings of Hirata. In view of the teachings of Matsumura regarding a laser device including a tunnel junction, the alternate use of a material system that involves growth atop a GaAs substrate and includes AlGaAs cladding layers, the additional inclusion of a DFB grating, as well as the alternate configuration of the ridge to provide optical confinement as taught by Hirata would enhance the teachings of Matsumura and Strassburg by allowing the device to be formed from an alternate material system that produces a different emission wavelength, by providing a suitable structure for providing feedback useful for establishing the laser cavity, as well as by providing a suitable mechanism for lateral confinement of the oscillating light.
The combination of Matsumura, Strassburg, and Hirata does not explicitly disclose, "Wherein the tunnel junction comprises a highly-doped n-type layer, an intrinsic layer, and a highly-doped p-type layer." Brick discloses, "Wherein the tunnel junction comprises a highly-doped n-type layer, an intrinsic layer, and a highly-doped p-type layer" (p. [0042] and Fig. 1, pts. 3, 3a, and 3b). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of the combination of Matsumura, Strassburg, and Hirata with the teachings of Brick. In view of the teachings of Matsumura regarding a laser device including a tunnel junction, the alternate construction of the tunnel junction to include an intrinsic layer between the doped layers as taught by Brick would enhance the teachings of Matsumura, Strassburg, and Hirata by providing a suitably alternate manner of constructing the tunnel junction.
Regarding claim 2, The combination of Matsumura and Strassburg does not explicitly disclose, "Wherein the p-type cladding layer is formed of a semiconductor composition including aluminum." Hirata discloses, "Wherein the p-type cladding layer is formed of a semiconductor composition including aluminum" (col. 4, lines 64-68, where this cladding layer is p-type when provided between a tunnel junction and the active region as in Strassburg). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of the combination of Matsumura and Strassburg with the teachings of Hirata for the reasons provided above regarding claim 1.
The combination of Matsumura, Strassburg, Hirata, and Brick does not explicitly disclose, "With an aluminum content exceeding 40% of the semiconductor composition." The examiner takes Official Notice of the fact that it was known in the art to vary the concentration ratio of III-V materials in a ternary composition of III-V materials so as to achieve desired electrical, optical, and structural properties. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to vary the aluminum content of the AlGaAs within the claimed range so as to achieve desired electrical, optical, and structural properties from this layer, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Regarding claim 3, The combination of Matsumura, Strassburg, Hirata, and Brick does not explicitly disclose, "Wherein the aluminum content of the p-type cladding layer exceeds 90%." The examiner takes Official Notice of the fact that it was known in the art to vary the concentration ratio of III-V materials in a ternary composition of III-V materials so as to achieve desired electrical, optical, and structural properties. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to vary the aluminum content of the AlGaAs within the claimed range so as to achieve desired electrical, optical, and structural properties from this layer, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Regarding claim 4, The combination of Matsumura and Strassburg does not explicitly disclose, "Wherein the p-type cladding layer comprises AlGaAs." Hirata discloses, "Wherein the p-type cladding layer comprises AlGaAs" (col. 4, lines 64-68, where this cladding layer is p-type when provided between a tunnel junction and the active region as in Strassburg). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of the combination of Matsumura and Strassburg with the teachings of Hirata for the reasons provided above regarding claim 1.
Regarding claim 5, The combination of Matsumura, Strassburg, Hirata, and Brick does not explicitly disclose, "Wherein the p-type cladding layer comprises AlAs." The examiner takes Official Notice of the fact that it was known in the art to vary the concentration ratio of III-V materials in a ternary composition of III-V materials so as to achieve desired electrical, optical, and structural properties. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to vary the aluminum content of the AlGaAs within the claimed range so as to achieve desired electrical, optical, and structural properties from this layer, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Regarding claim 7, Matsumura discloses, "Wherein the tunnel junction is configured as a strip aligned with the ridge structure of the n-type cladding layer" (p. [0032] and Fig. 3B, pts. 5, 6a, and 14a).
Regarding claim 8, The combination of Matsumura and Strassburg does not explicitly disclose, "Wherein the edge-emitting GaAs-based laser is formed as a distributed feedback laser." "A Bragg grating formed within the n-type waveguiding layer." "[The Bragg grating] disposed parallel with the active region." Hirata discloses, "Wherein the edge-emitting GaAs-based laser is formed as a distributed feedback laser" (col. 4, lines 60-61 and Fig. 2, pt. 18). "A Bragg grating formed within the n-type waveguiding layer" (col. 5, lines 6-9 and Fig. 2, pts. 16 and 18, where this guiding layer is the n-type guiding layer when doping according to the doping profile of Matsumura). "[The Bragg grating] disposed parallel with the active region" (col. 5, lines 6-9 and Fig. 2, pts. 14 and 18). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of the combination of Matsumura and Strassburg with the teachings of Hirata for the reasons provided above regarding claim 1.
Regarding claim 9, The combination of Matsumura and Strassburg does not explicitly disclose, "Wherein the Bragg grating is positioned at a spaced-apart location from the active region." Hirata discloses, "Wherein the Bragg grating is positioned at a spaced-apart location from the active region" (col. 5, lines 6-9 and Fig. 2, pts. 14 and 18). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of the combination of Matsumura and Strassburg with the teachings of Hirata for the reasons provided above regarding claim 1.
The combination of Matsumura, Strassburg, Hirata, and Brick does not explicitly disclose, "[The Bragg grating is positioned] sufficient to minimize interaction between an overgrowth interface of the Bragg grating and the active region." The examiner takes Official Notice of the fact that it was known in the art to adjust the distance between the active layer and a grating to vary the degree of coupling between the active layer and the grating. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to adjust the distance between the active layer and the grating so as to minimize interaction with a portion of the grating, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Regarding claim 10, Matsumura discloses, "Forming an inverted junction above the tunnel junction" (p. [0024], [0025], and Fig. 2B, pts. 6a, 8a, 10a, and 12a, where the junction formed by layers 8a, 10a, and 12a are an inverted junction as defined). "Wherein the inverted junction comprises a p-type waveguiding layer, an active region, and an n-type waveguiding layer" (p. [0024], [0025], and Fig. 2B, pts. 8a, 10a, and 12a, where the junction formed by layers 8a, 10a, and 12a are an inverted junction as defined). "Forming the p-type waveguiding layer on the p-type cladding layer" (p. [0024] and Fig. 3B, pts. 4 and 8a). "Disposing the active region on the formed p-type waveguiding layer" (p. [0019] and Fig. 3B, pts. 8a and 10a). "Forming the n-type waveguiding layer on the active region" (p. [0025] and Fig. 3B, pts. 10a and 12a). "Forming an n-type cladding layer over the n-type waveguiding layer" (p. [0025] and Fig. 3B, pts. 12a and 14a). "Depositing a second n-type ohmic p-contact on the bottom major surface of the n-type… substrate" (p. [0022] and Fig. 3H, pts. 2a and 26a). "Wherein the n-type cladding layer is formed to include a ridge structure" (p. [0032] and Fig. 3B, pts. 5 and 14a). Matsumura does not explicitly disclose, "Forming a tunnel junction on the top major surface of the… substrate." "Wherein forming the inverted junction comprises forming a p-type cladding layer on the tunnel junction." "Depositing a first n-type ohmic n-contact on the n-type cladding layer." Strassburg discloses, "Forming a tunnel junction on the top major surface of the… substrate" (p. [0060] and Fig. 1, pts. 3 and 4, where contact layer 3 of Strassburg corresponds to the substrate 2 of Matsumura when these features are combined). "Wherein forming the inverted junction comprises forming a p-type cladding layer on the tunnel junction" (p. [0073] and Fig. 1, pts. 4 and 5). "Depositing a first n-type ohmic n-contact on the n-type cladding layer" (p. [0085]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Matsumura with the teachings of Strassburg for the reasons provided above regarding claim 1.
The combination of Matsumura and Strassburg does not explicitly disclose, "Providing an n-type GaAs substrate having a top major surface and an opposing bottom major surface." "[The ridge structure] for both of current confinement and confinement of an optical mode field in an area above the active region." "Wherein the first n-type ohmic contact is disposed only on top of the ridge structure." Hirata discloses, "Providing an n-type GaAs substrate having a top major surface and an opposing bottom major surface" (col. 4, lines 60-64 and Fig. 1, pt. 10). "[The ridge structure] for both of current confinement and confinement of an optical mode field in an area above the active region" (col. 3, lines 12-15, col. 5, lines 58-62, and Fig. 1, pt. 20a). "Wherein the first n-type ohmic contact is disposed only on top of the ridge structure" (col. 5, lines 49-53 and Fig. 1, pts. 22 and 26, where the conductivity of the ridge and ohmic contact is n-type when the device is doped as in Matsumura). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of the combination of Matsumura and Strassburg with the teachings of Hirata for the reasons provided above regarding claim 1.
The combination of Matsumura, Strassburg, and Hirata does not explicitly disclose, "Wherein forming the tunnel junction comprises forming within the tunnel junction an arrangement comprising a highly-doped n-type layer, an intrinsic layer, and a highly-doped p-type layer." Brick discloses, "Wherein forming the tunnel junction comprises forming within the tunnel junction an arrangement comprising a highly-doped n-type layer, an intrinsic layer, and a highly-doped p-type layer" (p. [0042] and Fig. 1, pts. 3, 3a, and 3b). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of the combination of Matsumura, Strassburg, and Hirata with the teachings of Brick for the reasons provided above regarding claim 1.
Regarding claim 11, Matsumura discloses, "Where an epitaxial growth process is used to form the p-type and n-type layers" (p. [0030]).
Regarding claim 12, Matsumura discloses, "Depositing a layered structure of highly-doped n-type and p-type materials" (p. [0031] and Fig. 3A, pt. 6). "Patterning the layered structure to define a strip in alignment with an optical mode region" (p. [0032] and Fig. 3B, pts. 5 and 6a). "Etching the patterned, layered structure to remove the highly-doped p-type and n-type material from regions outside of the strip location" (p. [0032] and Fig. 3B, pts. 5 and 6a).
Regarding claim 13, The combination of Matsumura and Strassburg does not explicitly disclose, "Wherein the step of forming the n-type waveguiding layer includes the step of creating a Bragg grating structure." "[The Bragg grating structure] with a Bragg wavelength corresponding to the output wavelength of the edge-emitting GaAs-based laser." "Forming a distributed feedback laser." Hirata discloses, "Wherein the step of forming the n-type waveguiding layer includes the step of creating a Bragg grating structure" (col. 5, lines 6-9 and Fig. 2, pts. 16 and 18, where this guiding layer is the n-type guiding layer when doping according to the doping profile of Matsumura). "[The Bragg grating structure] with a Bragg wavelength corresponding to the output wavelength of the edge-emitting GaAs-based laser" (col. 5, lines 6-9 and Fig. 2, pt. 18). "Forming a distributed feedback laser" (col. 4, lines 60-61 and Fig. 2, pt. 18). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of the combination of Matsumura and Strassburg with the teachings of Hirata for the reasons provided above regarding claim 1.
Conclusion
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/SEAN P HAGAN/Examiner, Art Unit 2828
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