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 .
Respond to Argument
Regarding to 112(a), and 112(b) rejection about the “substantially” has been withdrawn because the applicant amended the claim.
However, a new 112(b) rejection has been made in according to the newly added term “ non-reflective.”
Applicant’s arguments with respect to nearly added “capable of realizing a high refractive index, where the refractive index is 3.5 or higher” in claim 1 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1, 4-22 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites “non-reflective”, which renders the claim indefinite. It is unclear what is non-reflective because the claim and specification does not give a definition of non-reflective. Does it mean zero reflectivity, or a reflectivity lower than certain value? Para[0003] of specification disclose a non-reflectivity material with reflectivity of 5.1% in Non-Patent Document 3: Takehito SUZUKI, “exploration of materials with unprecedented refractive indices and the applications to terahertz wave bands,” Appl. Phys, vol. 86, no. 10, pp. 897-902, Oct. 2017.
[0035] of current application discloses the optical properties of the pattern arrays, it is understood that desired high refractive-index, low reflective, and non-polarizing properties can be obtained,…. and the low reflectivity of 13% can be obtained at the radius r=0.9 μm and the gap s=0.1 μm, at which the relative permeability becomes the maximum, [0043] of current application discloses “ it is understood that desired high refractive-index, low reflective, and non-polarizing properties can be obtained, for the designed frequency of 200 THz, when the radius r of the meta- atoms 12 a, 13 a is from 120 nm to 145 nm, more preferably, from 130 nm to 140 nm, and when the gaps is from 10 nm to 60 nm, more preferably, from 10 nm to 20 nm, and particularly, a high refractive index 5.74(+j1.03) and a low reflectivity 16% can be obtained at the radius r=130 nm and the gap s=10 nm, at which the relative permeability becomes the maximum.” It appears that the current application never discloses a material with zero reflectivity and does not provide definition of non-reflective. And the two low reflective values that the current application discloses are 13% and 16%. For examination purpose, the term “non-reflective” has been interpretated as a reflectivity that is equal to or less than 16%.
Claims 4-20 are rejected for the same reason because they depend on claim 1
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 following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1,4, 5, 8, 16, and 17, 21-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Suzuki (“exploration of materials with unprecedented refractive indices and the applications to terahertz wave bands,” Appl. Phys, vol. 86, no. 10, pp. 897-902, Oct. 2017.) in view of Mosallaei ( US20140085693A1) and Jia ( Multifocal terahertz lenses realized by polarization-insensitive reflective metasurfaces Appl. Phys. Lett. 114, 101105 (2019) March 13, 2019)
With regard to claim 1, Suzuki teaches a thermal radiation lens configured to control propagation of thermal radiation, comprising :a substrate, ( Fig. 3, Fig. 4, substrate with front and back patterns);a plurality of first patterns arranged ( front of substrate, Fig. 3, Fig. 4), in a first region on one surface of the substrate ( front of the substrate, Fig. 3, Fig. 4), regularly in a first direction ( x direction, Fig. 3, Fig. 4) parallel to the one surface and in a second direction ( y direction, Fig. 3, Fig. 4) crossing the first direction; and a plurality of second patterns formed, in a second region overlapping with the first region, on a back surface of the substrate ( see patterns at the back surface of substrate Fig. 3, Fig. 4, see page 6, Metal wires are placed on the front and back of a dielectric substrate) , to overlap with each of the plurality of first patterns ( see Fig. 3, Fig. 4) wherein, among the plurality of first patterns and the plurality of second patterns, a first pattern and a second pattern overlapping with each other with the substrate interposed therebetween have a same size and a same shape ( see Fig. 3, Fig. 4 the front and back patterns of substrate have the same size and same shape) ; and wherein the substrate, the plurality of first patterns, and the plurality of second patterns form a sheet-type material ( see Fig. 3, Fig. 4, front and back patterns on the substrate) a capable of realizing a high refractive-index ( Fig. 2, neff=12+j0.92), non- reflective ( Fig. 2, reflection power, 5.1% for neff=12+j0.92 the term “non-reflective” has been interpretated under 112(b) as a reflectivity that is equal to or less than 16%.) and wherein the refractive index is 3.50 or higher ( Fig. 2, refractive-index is 12).
Suzuki does not teach the plurality of first pattens and the plurality of second patterns have a width in the first direction and a width in the second direction that is the same; and
wherein the sheet-type material capable of realizing a non-polarizing optical properties.
However, Mosallaei ( US20140085693A1) teaches about the plurality of first pattens and the plurality of second patterns have a width in the first direction and a width in the second direction that is the same ( Fig. 16 (a)) with a non-polarizing structure (Para of [0018] of specification of current application discloses that in the sheet-type material 10 according to the present embodiment, the meta- atoms 12 a, 13 a each have a symmetrical circular shape in any direction in the XY-plane, and, therefore, the meta- atoms 12 a, 13 a show the behavior of such a permeability and permittivity for thermal radiation in any polarization direction. As disclosed in applicant’s specification that a symmetric circular shape of meta atoms generates permeability and permittivity in any polarization directions, and generate non-polarizing properties and
Mosallaei discloses in Fig. 16(a) the symmetric circular shape in any direction in X-Y plane, which matches current application’s structure description of generating non-polarizing optical properties )
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the filing dated of the claimed invention to have further modified the thermal radiation lens of Suzuki (Fig. 1), so that “the plurality of first pattens and the plurality of second patterns have a width in the first direction and a width in the second direction that is the same, and a sheet-type material with a non-polarizing optical properties, as taught by Mosallaei, in order to use the shape of elements to alter the phase, polarization and amplitude[0087].
In addition, Jia teaches multifocal terahertz lenses realized by polarization-insensitve metasurfaces (symmetric structure is insensitive to the polarization of EM waves). it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the filing dated of the claimed invention to have further modified the thermal radiation lens of Suzuki and Mosallaei, to use the symmetric structure to demonstrate non-polarization properties, as taught by Jia, so that the optical device would not being affected by the polarization of the incident light.
With respect to claim 4, the combination Suzuki, Mosallaei and Jia teaches all of the subject matter of claim 1; furthermore, Suzuki (FIG. 3, 4) additionally discloses that “at least a portion of the plurality of first patterns (top of the pattern) and the plurality of second patterns (bottom of the pattern) is arranged with a gap interposed therebetween in the first direction (x-direction) and in the second direction (y-direction),” (as shown in FIG. 3, 4, for substantially most (i.e., a portion) of the plurality of top patterns and for substantially most (i.e., a portion) of the plurality of second patterns (bottom patterns), a gap (s) is interposed therebetween in the first direction (the x-direction) and a gap (g) is interposed therebetween in the second direction (the y-direction)).
Suzuki does not teach wherein, a radius of the circular shape is from 120 nm to 145 nm, and the gap is from 10 nm to 60 nm,”
Mosallaei discloses a metasurface as shown in FIG. 16A, which is a multimaterial loops metasurface, in which first loops (1601), third loops (1602) and fifth loops (1603) constitute plasmonic loops, and second loops (1605) and fourth loops (1604) constitute dielectric loops, (¶¶ [0058], all lines, [0059], all lines, [0060], all lines, [0061], all lines, [0062], all lines).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the thermal radiation lens of Suzuki so as to replace the plurality of first patterns and the plurality of second patterns having a rectangular shape with “the plurality of first patterns and the plurality of second patterns hav[ing] a circular shape and a radius of circular shape is from 120nm to 145nm,” as taught by Mosallaei, because the combination advantageously utilizes patterns with circular geometry in place of patterns having rectangular geometry as suggested by Mosallaei (FIGs. 16 and 18, and ¶ [0063], all lines) in order to achieve resonant frequency in terahertz bandwidth.
Suzuki and Mosallaei does not appear to explicitly teach that “ a radius of the circular shape is from 120nm to 145 nm,…the gap is from 10 nm to 60 nm
However, In FIG. 16(a) of Mosallaei, using radius as a yardstick for scale, for a radius of 125 nm, the spacing shown between multimaterial loops in FIG. 16(a) is about 154 nm. However, it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 U.S.P.Q. 233 (C.C.P.A. 1955); MPEP 2144.05(II)(A). In this case, discovering workable gaps falling within the range of 10 nm to 60 nm would involve only routine skill in the art. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the thermal radiation lens of WO’098 (FIGs. 13 and 1) and Mosallaei so as to find the workable range of gaps overlapping the claimed range of “10 nm to 60 nm,” which would involve only routine skill in the art to achieve.
Thus, as would be appreciated by a person of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention, the combination of Suzuki and Mosallaei teaches “the plurality of first patterns and the plurality of second patterns have a circular shape, wherein, a radius of the circular shape is from 120 nm to 145 nm, and the gap is from 10 nm to 60 nm,”
With respect to claim 5, the combination of Suzuki (Suzuki (FIG. 3, 4), Mosallaei and Jia teaches all the limitations of claim 1. Suzuki ( Fig. 3, 4) further discloses that “at least a portion of the plurality of first patterns (pattern on the top surface of the substrate) and the plurality of second patterns ( pattern on the bottom surface of the substrate) is arranged with a gap interposed therebetween in the first direction (x-direction) and in the second direction (y-direction),” (as shown in FIG. 3, 4, for substantially most (i.e., a portion) of the plurality of first patterns and for substantially most (i.e., a portion) of the plurality of second patterns (11a), a gap (s) is interposed therebetween in the first direction (the x-direction) and a gap (g) is interposed therebetween in the second direction (the y-direction).
However, the thermal radiation lens of Suzuki Fig. 3, 4 does not appear to explicitly teach “the plurality of first patterns and the plurality of second patterns have a square shape, wherein, one side of the square shape is from 260 nm to 335 nm, and the gap is from 50 nm to 150 nm.”
Mosallaei discloses a metasurface as shown in FIG. 10A comprising an array (1004) of square unit cells (first patterns) containing concentric metal loops with outer metal loop (1002) and inner metal loop (1003) disposed on a substrate (1001), so that the unit cells have a side-dimension L=300 nm described in claim 4, the dimension of the metallic patches are in the range of 300nm to about 2.0 µm ). the gap is from 50nm to 150nm (FIG. 10 of Masallaei, the outer loop (1002) has the width dimensions of 300* 300 nm, and the gap between loops (patterns) is about 40% of the width, so the gap is about 120 nm, which falls well within the claimed range thereby anticipating the claimed range.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the thermal radiation lens of claim 1 so that “the plurality of first patterns and the plurality of second patterns have a square shape” as taught by Mosallaei, and so that “one side of the square shape is from 260 nm to 335 nm, and the gap is from 50 nm to 150 nm ,” as taught by Mosallaei, because the combination utilizes a commonly-used square shape for the patterns,
And the combination advantageously dimensions the gaps appropriately for constructing nanostructures as taught by Mosallaei, (FIG. 10, and ¶ [0018], all lines).
With respect to claim 8, the combination of Suzuki (Suzuki (FIG. 3, 4), Mosallaei and Jia teaches all the limitations of claim 1, Suzuki further discloses “wherein the first region (Annotated Fig. 3) including the plurality of first patterns (patterns at the top surface of substrate) and the second region (which is on the back surface overlapping the first region) including the plurality of second patterns (patterns at the bottom surface of substrate) are arranged periodically in at least one axis direction (at least the x-axis direction) parallel to the one surface (see annotated Fig. 3)
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With respect to claim 16, the combination of Suzuki (Suzuki (FIG. 3, 4), Mosallaei and Jia teaches all the limitations of claim 4 , Suzuki ( Fig. 3, 4) discloses “wherein the first region (Annotated Fig. 3, above) including the plurality of first patterns (first region) and the second region (which is on the back surface overlapping the first region) including the plurality of second patterns (patterns at the back surface of dielectric) are arranged periodically in at least one axis direction (at least the x-axis direction) parallel to the one surface (the front surface).”
With respect to claim 17, the combination of Suzuki (Suzuki (FIG. 3, 4), Mosallaei and Jia teaches all the limitations of claim 5, Suzuki ( Fig. 3, 4) discloses “wherein the first region (Annotated Fig. 3, above) including the plurality of first patterns (first region) and the second region (which is on the back surface overlapping the first region) including the plurality of second patterns (patterns at the back surface of dielectric) are arranged periodically in at least one axis direction (at least the x-axis direction) parallel to the one surface (the front surface).”
With respect to claim 21, the combination Suzuki, Mosallaei and Jia teaches all of the subject matter of claim 1; furthermore, Suzuki (FIG. 3, 4) additionally discloses that “at least a portion of the plurality of first patterns (top of the pattern) and the plurality of second patterns (bottom of the pattern) is arranged with a gap interposed therebetween in the first direction (x-direction) and in the second direction (y-direction),” (as shown in FIG. 3, 4, for substantially most (i.e., a portion) of the plurality of top patterns and for substantially most (i.e., a portion) of the plurality of second patterns (bottom patterns), a gap (s) is interposed therebetween in the first direction (the x-direction) and a gap (g) is interposed therebetween in the second direction (the y-direction)).
Suzuki does not teach wherein, a radius of the circular shape is from 0.5 μm to 1.3 μm, and the gap is from 0.1 μm to 1.1 μm,”
Mosallaei discloses a metasurface as shown in FIG. 16A, which is a multimaterial loops metasurface, in which first loops (1601), third loops (1602) and fifth loops (1603) constitute plasmonic loops, and second loops (1605) and fourth loops (1604) constitute dielectric loops, (¶¶ [0058], all lines, [0059], all lines, [0060], all lines, [0061], all lines, [0062], all lines). And a radius of circular shape of outside loop is 624 nm (0.624 μm at [0067]) (which anticipates the claimed range from 0.5 μm to 1.3 μm). In FIG. 16(a) of Mosallaei, using radius as a yardstick for scale, for a radius of 624nm, the spacing shown between multimaterial loops in FIG. 16(a) is about 0.768 um . which anticipates the claimed range from 0.1 μm to 1.1 μm
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the thermal radiation lens of Suzuki so as to replace the plurality of first patterns and the plurality of second patterns having a rectangular shape with “the plurality of first patterns and the plurality of second patterns hav[ing] a radius of the circular shape is from 0.5 μm to 1.3 μm, and the gap is from 0.1 μm to 1.1 μm ,” as taught by Mosallaei, because the combination advantageously utilizes patterns with circular geometry in place of patterns having rectangular geometry as suggested by Mosallaei (Figs 16 and 18, and ¶ [0063], all lines) in order to achieve resonant frequency in terahertz bandwidth.
With respect to claim 22, the combination of Suzuki (Suzuki (FIG. 3, 4), Mosallaei and Jia teaches all the limitations of claim 1. Suzuki ( Fig. 3, 4) further discloses that “at least a portion of the plurality of first patterns (pattern on the top surface of the substrate) and the plurality of second patterns ( pattern on the bottom surface of the substrate) is arranged with a gap interposed therebetween in the first direction (x-direction) and in the second direction (y-direction),” (as shown in FIG. 3, 4, for substantially most (i.e., a portion) of the plurality of first patterns and for substantially most (i.e., a portion) of the plurality of second patterns (11a), a gap (s) is interposed therebetween in the first direction (the x-direction) and a gap (g) is interposed therebetween in the second direction (the y-direction).
However, the thermal radiation lens of Suzuki Fig. 1 does not appear to explicitly teach “the plurality of first patterns and the plurality of second patterns have a square shape, wherein, “one side of the square shape is from 1.6 nm to 2.0 µm and the gap is from 0.1 nm to 0.5 µm.”
Mosallaei discloses a metasurface as shown in FIG. 10A comprising an array (1004) of square unit cells (first patterns) containing concentric metal loops with outer metal loop (1002) and inner metal loop (1003) disposed on a substrate (1001), so that the unit cells have a side-dimension Lo = 550 nm as shown in FIG. 11, (¶¶ [0040], all lines, and [0044], all lines, 0.55um ). the gap is from 0.1 nm to 0.5 µm (FIG. 10 of Masallaei, the outer loop (1002) has the width dimensions of 550 nm x 550 nm, and the gap between loops (patterns) is about 40% of the width, so the gap is about 220 nm, which falls well within the claimed range thereby anticipating the claimed range.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the thermal radiation lens of claim 1 so that “the plurality of first patterns and the plurality of second patterns have a square shape” as taught by Mosallaei, and so that “one side of the square shape is from 1.6 nm to 2.0 µm and the gap is from 0.1 nm to 0.5 µm,” as taught by Mosallaei, because the combination utilizes a commonly-used square shape for the patterns, as taught by Mosallaei (FIGs. 10A and 10B), and is dimension to 550 nm (0.55 µm), which anticipates the claimed range wherein “one side of the square shape is from 1.6 nm to 2.0 µm.” And the combination advantageously dimensions the gaps appropriately for constructing nanostructures as taught by Mosallaei, (FIG. 10, and ¶ [0018], all lines).
Claim 6, 7,12, 13, 14 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Suzuki (“exploration of materials with unprecedented refractive indices and the applications to terahertz wave bands,” Appl. Phys, vol. 86, no. 10, pp. 897-902, Oct. 2017). in view of Mosallaei (US 2014/0085693 A1) and Jia ( Multifocal terahertz lenses realized by polarization-insensitive reflective metasurfaces Appl. Phys. Lett. 114, 101105 (2019) March 13, 2019) and further in view of Quanlong Yang et al., Efficient Flat Metasurface lens for Terahertz Imaging, 22 OPTICS EXPRESS 25931-25939 (2014)(hereinafter “Yang”)(FIG. 1(a) and 1(b)).
With respect to claim 6, the combination of Suzuki (Suzuki (FIG. 3, 4), Mosallaei and Jia teaches all the limitations of claim 4 but not “wherein another portion of the plurality of first patterns and the plurality of second patterns is arranged adjacent to the at least the portion of the plurality of first patterns and the plurality of second patterns and arranged, in at least one of the first direction and the second direction, with another gap larger than the gap, interposed therebetween.”
Yang discloses a thermal radiation lens design, (abstract), configured to control propagation of thermal radiation (according to the abstract, the metasurface lens manipulates the spatial distribution of a terahertz field and focuses the beam to a spot size on the order of a wavelength), comprising: a substrate (dielectric spacer made of benzocyclobutene); a plurality of first patterns (resonators) arranged, in a first region on one surface (front surface) of the substrate (dielectric spacer), regularly in a first direction (x axis direction, FIG. 1(b)) parallel to the one surface (front surface) and in a second direction (y axis direction, FIG. 1(a)) crossing the first direction (x axis direction); and a plurality of second patterns (resonators) formed, in a second region overlapping with the first region, on a back surface of the substrate (dielectric spacer), to overlap with each of the plurality of first patterns (resonators), (FIGs. 1(a) and 1(b), and Section 2, Design and numerical analysis, lines 1-34, describing two metasurfaces with the same resonator pattern that are stacked together on two sides of the dielectric spacer). Yang further discloses “wherein another portion (a peripheral portion) of the plurality of first patterns (resonators on the front surface) and the plurality of second patterns (resonators on the back surface) is arranged adjacent to that at least a portion (central portion as shown in FIG. 1(b)) of the plurality of first patterns (resonators on the first surface) and the plurality of second patterns (resonators on the back surface) and arranged, in at least one of the first direction (x-direction) and the second direction (y-direction), with another gap larger than the gap, interposed therebetween (as evident from FIG. 1(b), the gaps of larger size are arranged in both the x-direction and the y-direction, with the larger gaps located towards the periphery and the gap located in the central portion).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the thermal radiation lens of claim 4, so that “another portion of the plurality of first patterns and the plurality of second patterns is arranged adjacent to at least the portion of the plurality of first patterns and the plurality of second patterns and arranged, in at least one of the first direction and the second direction, with another gap larger than the gap, interposed therebetween,” as taught by Yang, because the combination advantageously varies the size of the gaps so that the width of each resonator gets shorter the farther away from a central portion as well and the closer to the periphery the resonator is located, which permits the lens designer to control the transmission and phase of the terahertz wave as it propagates through the metasurface lens as taught by Yang, (page 25933, line 24, to page 25934, line 2).
With respect to claim 7, the combination of Suzuki (Suzuki (FIG. 3, 4), Mosallaei and Jia teaches all the limitations of claim 1; but not “wherein another portion of the plurality of first patterns and the plurality of second patterns is disposed adjacent to at least a portion of the plurality of first patterns and the plurality of second patterns and has another width different from the width for at least one of the first direction and the second direction.”
Yang discloses a thermal radiation lens design, (abstract), configured to control propagation of thermal radiation (according to the abstract, the metasurface lens manipulates the spatial distribution of a terahertz field and focuses the beam to a spot size on the order of a wavelength), comprising: a substrate (dielectric spacer made of benzocyclobutene); a plurality of first patterns (resonators) arranged, in a first region on one surface (front surface) of the substrate (dielectric spacer), regularly in a first direction (x axis direction, FIG. 1(b)) parallel to the one surface (front surface) and in a second direction (y axis direction, FIG. 1(a)) crossing the first direction (x axis direction); and a plurality of second patterns (resonators) formed, in a second region overlapping with the first region, on a back surface of the substrate (dielectric spacer), to overlap with each of the plurality of first patterns (resonators), (FIGs. 1(a) and 1(b), and Section 2, Design and numerical analysis, lines 1-34, describing two metasurfaces with the same resonator pattern that are stacked together on two sides of the dielectric spacer). Yang further discloses “wherein another portion (a peripheral portion) of the plurality of first patterns (resonators on the front surface) and the plurality of second patterns (resonators on the back surface) is disposed adjacent to at least a portion (central portion as shown in FIG. 1(b)) of the plurality of first patterns (resonators on the first surface) and the plurality of second patterns (resonators on the back surface) and has another width different from the width for at least one of the first direction and the second direction, (as shown in the expanded view of FIG. 1(b), the width of resonators is wider closer to the center and the width of the resonators gets smaller for resonators closer to the periphery).”
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the thermal radiation lens of claim 1, so that “another portion of the plurality of first patterns and the plurality of second patterns is disposed adjacent to at least a portion of the plurality of first patterns and the plurality of second patterns and has another width different from the width for at least one of the first direction and the second direction,” as taught by Yang, because the combination advantageously varies the width of the resonators so that the width of each resonator gets shorter the farther away from a central portion and the closer to the periphery the resonator is located, which permits the lens designer to control the transmission and phase of the terahertz wave as it propagates through the metasurface lens as taught by Yang, (page 25933, line 24, to page 25934, line 2).
With respect to claim 12, the combination of Suzuki (Suzuki (FIG. 3,4), Mosallaei and Jia teaches all the limitations of claim 5; but not wherein another portion of the plurality of first patterns and the plurality of second patterns is arranged adjacent to at least the portion of the plurality of first patterns and the plurality of second patterns and arranged, in at least one of the first direction and the second direction, with another gap larger than the gap, interposed therebetween.”
Yang discloses a thermal radiation lens design, (abstract), configured to control propagation of thermal radiation (according to the abstract, the metasurface lens manipulates the spatial distribution of a terahertz field and focuses the beam to a spot size on the order of a wavelength), comprising: a substrate (dielectric spacer made of benzocyclobutene); a plurality of first patterns (resonators) arranged, in a first region on one surface (front surface) of the substrate (dielectric spacer), regularly in a first direction (x axis direction, FIG. 1(b)) parallel to the one surface (front surface) and in a second direction (y axis direction, FIG. 1(a)) crossing the first direction (x axis direction); and a plurality of second patterns (resonators) formed, in a second region overlapping with the first region, on a back surface of the substrate (dielectric spacer), to overlap with each of the plurality of first patterns (resonators), (FIGs. 1(a) and 1(b), and Section 2, Design and numerical analysis, lines 1-34, describing two metasurfaces with the same resonator pattern that are stacked together on two sides of the dielectric spacer). Yang further discloses “wherein another portion (a peripheral portion) of the plurality of first patterns (resonators on the front surface) and the plurality of second patterns (resonators on the back surface) is arranged adjacent to that at least a portion (central portion as shown in FIG. 1(b)) of the plurality of first patterns (resonators on the first surface) and the plurality of second patterns (resonators on the back surface) and arranged, in at least one of the first direction (x-direction) and the second direction (y-direction), with another gap larger than the gap, interposed therebetween (as evident from FIG. 1(b), the gaps of larger size are arranged in both the x-direction and the y-direction, with the larger gaps located towards the periphery and the gap located in the central portion).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the thermal radiation lens of claim 5 so that “another portion of the plurality of first patterns and the plurality of second patterns is arranged adjacent to at least the portion of the plurality of first patterns and the plurality of second patterns and arranged, in at least one of the first direction and the second direction, with another gap larger than the gap, interposed therebetween,” as taught by Yang, because the combination advantageously varies the size of the gaps so that the width of each resonator gets shorter the farther away from a central portion as well and the closer to the periphery the resonator is located, which permits the lens designer to control the transmission and phase of the terahertz wave as it propagates through the metasurface lens as taught by Yang, (page 25933, line 24, to page 25934, line 2).
With respect to claim 12, the combination of Suzuki (Suzuki (FIG. 3,4), Mosallaei and Jia teaches all the limitations of claim 5; but not wherein another portion of the plurality of first patterns and the plurality of second patterns is arranged adjacent to at least the portion of the plurality of first patterns and the plurality of second patterns and arranged, in at least one of the first direction and the second direction, with another gap larger than the gap, interposed therebetween.”
Yang discloses a thermal radiation lens design, (abstract), configured to control propagation of thermal radiation (according to the abstract, the metasurface lens manipulates the spatial distribution of a terahertz field and focuses the beam to a spot size on the order of a wavelength), comprising: a substrate (dielectric spacer made of benzocyclobutene); a plurality of first patterns (resonators) arranged, in a first region on one surface (front surface) of the substrate (dielectric spacer), regularly in a first direction (x axis direction, FIG. 1(b)) parallel to the one surface (front surface) and in a second direction (y axis direction, FIG. 1(a)) crossing the first direction (x axis direction); and a plurality of second patterns (resonators) formed, in a second region overlapping with the first region, on a back surface of the substrate (dielectric spacer), to overlap with each of the plurality of first patterns (resonators), (FIGs. 1(a) and 1(b), and Section 2, Design and numerical analysis, lines 1-34, describing two metasurfaces with the same resonator pattern that are stacked together on two sides of the dielectric spacer). Yang further discloses “wherein another portion (a peripheral portion) of the plurality of first patterns (resonators on the front surface) and the plurality of second patterns (resonators on the back surface) is arranged adjacent to that at least a portion (central portion as shown in FIG. 1(b)) of the plurality of first patterns (resonators on the first surface) and the plurality of second patterns (resonators on the back surface) and arranged, in at least one of the first direction (x-direction) and the second direction (y-direction), with another gap larger than the gap, interposed therebetween (as evident from FIG. 1(b), the gaps of larger size are arranged in both the x-direction and the y-direction, with the larger gaps located towards the periphery and the gap located in the central portion).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the thermal radiation lens of claim 5 so that “another portion of the plurality of first patterns and the plurality of second patterns is arranged adjacent to at least the portion of the plurality of first patterns and the plurality of second patterns and arranged, in at least one of the first direction and the second direction, with another gap larger than the gap, interposed therebetween,” as taught by Yang, because the combination advantageously varies the size of the gaps so that the width of each resonator gets shorter the farther away from a central portion as well and the closer to the periphery the resonator is located, which permits the lens designer to control the transmission and phase of the terahertz wave as it propagates through the metasurface lens as taught by Yang, (page 25933, line 24, to page 25934, line 2).
With respect to claim 13, the combination of Suzuki (Suzuki (FIG. 3, 4), Mosallaei and Jia teaches all the limitations of claim 4; but not disclose “wherein another portion of the plurality of first patterns and the plurality of second patterns is disposed adjacent to at least the portion of the plurality of first patterns and the plurality of second patterns and has another width different from the width for at least one of the first direction and the second direction.”
Yang discloses a thermal radiation lens design, (abstract), configured to control propagation of thermal radiation (according to the abstract, the metasurface lens manipulates the spatial distribution of a terahertz field and focuses the beam to a spot size on the order of a wavelength), comprising: a substrate (dielectric spacer made of benzocyclobutene); a plurality of first patterns (resonators) arranged, in a first region on one surface (front surface) of the substrate (dielectric spacer), regularly in a first direction (x axis direction, FIG. 1(b)) parallel to the one surface (front surface) and in a second direction (y axis direction, FIG. 1(a)) crossing the first direction (x axis direction); and a plurality of second patterns (resonators) formed, in a second region overlapping with the first region, on a back surface of the substrate (dielectric spacer), to overlap with each of the plurality of first patterns (resonators), (FIGs. 1(a) and 1(b), and Section 2, Design and numerical analysis, lines 1-34, describing two metasurfaces with the same resonator pattern that are stacked together on two sides of the dielectric spacer). Yang further discloses “wherein another portion (a peripheral portion) of the plurality of first patterns (resonators on the front surface) and the plurality of second patterns (resonators on the back surface) is disposed adjacent to at least a portion (central portion as shown in FIG. 1(b)) of the plurality of first patterns (resonators on the first surface) and the plurality of second patterns (resonators on the back surface) and has another width different from the width for at least one of the first direction and the second direction, (as shown in the expanded view of FIG. 1(b), the width of resonators is wider closer to the center and the width of the resonators gets smaller for resonators closer to the periphery).”
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the thermal radiation lens claim 4, so that “another portion of the plurality of first patterns and the plurality of second patterns is disposed adjacent to at least a portion of the plurality of first patterns and the plurality of second patterns and has another width different from the width for at least one of the first direction and the second direction,” as taught by Yang, because the combination advantageously varies the width of the resonators so that the width of each resonator gets shorter the farther away from a central portion and the closer to the periphery the resonator is located, which permits the lens designer to control the transmission and phase of the terahertz wave as it propagates through the metasurface lens as taught by Yang, (page 25933, line 24, to page 25934, line 2).
With respect to claim 14, the combination of Suzuki (Suzuki (FIG. 3,4), Mosallaei , Jia and Yang teaches all the limitations of claim 5; but not “wherein another portion of the plurality of first patterns and the plurality of second patterns is disposed adjacent to the at least the portion of the plurality of first patterns and the plurality of second patterns and has another width different from the width for at least one of the first direction and the second direction.”
Yang discloses a thermal radiation lens design, (abstract), configured to control propagation of thermal radiation (according to the abstract, the metasurface lens manipulates the spatial distribution of a terahertz field and focuses the beam to a spot size on the order of a wavelength), comprising: a substrate (dielectric spacer made of benzocyclobutene); a plurality of first patterns (resonators) arranged, in a first region on one surface (front surface) of the substrate (dielectric spacer), regularly in a first direction (x axis direction, FIG. 1(b)) parallel to the one surface (front surface) and in a second direction (y axis direction, FIG. 1(a)) crossing the first direction (x axis direction); and a plurality of second patterns (resonators) formed, in a second region overlapping with the first region, on a back surface of the substrate (dielectric spacer), to overlap with each of the plurality of first patterns (resonators), (FIGs. 1(a) and 1(b), and Section 2, Design and numerical analysis, lines 1-34, describing two metasurfaces with the same resonator pattern that are stacked together on two sides of the dielectric spacer). Yang further discloses “wherein another portion (a peripheral portion) of the plurality of first patterns (resonators on the front surface) and the plurality of second patterns (resonators on the back surface) is disposed adjacent to at least a portion (central portion as shown in FIG. 1(b)) of the plurality of first patterns (resonators on the first surface) and the plurality of second patterns (resonators on the back surface) and has another width different from the width for at least one of the first direction and the second direction, (as shown in the expanded view of FIG. 1(b), the width of resonators is wider closer to the center and the width of the resonators gets smaller for resonators closer to the periphery).”
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the thermal radiation lens claim 5 so that “another portion of the plurality of first patterns and the plurality of second patterns is disposed adjacent to the at least the portion of the plurality of first patterns and the plurality of second patterns and has another width different from the width for at least one of the first direction and the second direction,” as taught by Yang, because the combination advantageously varies the width of the resonators so that the width of each resonator gets shorter the farther away from a central portion and the closer to the periphery the resonator is located, which permits the lens designer to control the transmission and phase of the terahertz wave as it propagates through the metasurface lens as taught by Yang, (page 25933, line 24, to page 25934, line 2).
With respect to claim 15, the combination of Suzuki (Suzuki (FIG. 3,4), Mosallaei, Jia and Yang teaches all the limitations of claim 6; but not “wherein another portion of the plurality of first patterns and the plurality of second patterns is disposed adjacent to the at least the portion of the plurality of first patterns and the plurality of second patterns and has another width different from the width for at least one of the first direction and the second direction.”
Yang discloses a thermal radiation lens design, (abstract), configured to control propagation of thermal radiation (according to the abstract, the metasurface lens manipulates the spatial distribution of a terahertz field and focuses the beam to a spot size on the order of a wavelength), comprising: a substrate (dielectric spacer made of benzocyclobutene); a plurality of first patterns (resonators) arranged, in a first region on one surface (front surface) of the substrate (dielectric spacer), regularly in a first direction (x axis direction, FIG. 1(b)) parallel to the one surface (front surface) and in a second direction (y axis direction, FIG. 1(a)) crossing the first direction (x axis direction); and a plurality of second patterns (resonators) formed, in a second region overlapping with the first region, on a back surface of the substrate (dielectric spacer), to overlap with each of the plurality of first patterns (resonators), (FIGs. 1(a) and 1(b), and Section 2, Design and numerical analysis, lines 1-34, describing two metasurfaces with the same resonator pattern that are stacked together on two sides of the dielectric spacer). Yang further discloses “wherein another portion (a peripheral portion) of the plurality of first patterns (resonators on the front surface) and the plurality of second patterns (resonators on the back surface) is disposed adjacent to at least a portion (central portion as shown in FIG. 1(b)) of the plurality of first patterns (resonators on the first surface) and the plurality of second patterns (resonators on the back surface) and has another width different from the width for at least one of the first direction and the second direction, (as shown in the expanded view of FIG. 1(b), the width of resonators is wider closer to the center and the width of the resonators gets smaller for resonators closer to the periphery).”
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the thermal radiation lens claim 6 so that “another portion of the plurality of first patterns and the plurality of second patterns is disposed adjacent to the at least the portion of the plurality of first patterns and the plurality of second patterns and has another width different from the width for at least one of the first direction and the second direction,” as taught by Yang, because the combination advantageously varies the width of the resonators so that the width of each resonator gets shorter the farther away from a central portion and the closer to the periphery the resonator is located, which permits the lens designer to control the transmission and phase of the terahertz wave as it propagates through the metasurface lens as taught by Yang, (page 25933, line 24, to page 25934, line 2).
Claims 9, 10,11, 18, 19, 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Suzuki (“exploration of materials with unprecedented refractive indices and the applications to terahertz wave bands,” Appl. Phys, vol. 86, no. 10, pp. 897-902, Oct. 2017)., Mosallaei ( US20140085693A1) and Jia ( Multifocal terahertz lenses realized by polarization-insensitive reflective metasurfaces Appl. Phys. Lett. 114, 101105 (2019) March 13, 2019) in further view of Song( WO2009084852A2)
With respect to claim 9, the combination of Suzuki (Suzuki (FIG. 3.4), Mosallaei and Jia teaches all the limitations of claim 1, Suzuki (FIG. 3,4) discloses that the substrate (12) is a dielectric film, (Fig. 1 of translation substrate may be a dielectric film and page 3 of translation), and the plurality of first patterns and the plurality of second patterns are conductive metal films, (metal wire structure in Fig. 4, see page 7 of translation).
Suzuki does not explicitly teach heat tolerant film.
However, Song teaches heat tolerant film on the lens substrate (benzocyclobutene (BCB.) [0012]see applicant’s specification at [0019] BCB is a heat tolerant dielectric film)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to have modified claim 1) to use BCB on the substrate as taught by Song, to use BCB protect the substrate because the heat tolerant property
With respect to claim 10, the combination of Suzuki (Suzuki (FIG. 3, 4), Mosallaei and Jia and Song teaches all the limitations of claim 9, and Song teaches that “the substrate is formed of benzocyclobutene (BCB[0011] of Song, BCB), polyimide, a quartz glass (SiO2), or silicon nitride (Si3N4).”
With respect to claim 11, the combination of Suzuki (Suzuki (FIG. 3, 4, Mosallaei , Jia and Song teaches all the limitations of claim 9, Suzuki further disclose “wherein the plurality of first patterns and the plurality of second patterns are formed of metal (page 6 of translation, Metals wires are placed on front and back of a dielectric substrate)
Suzuki does not teach about the metal is gold, silver, copper or aluminum
Mosallaei teaches the metal layer is made of gold, silver, copper, or aluminum,” (metal patch made of gold [0022]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Suzuki) to gold as metal wire as taught by Mosallaei, to gold as metal conductive wire because the gold is highly resistant to oxidation and corrosion, and is extremely malleable
With respect to claim 18, the combination of Suzuki (Suzuki (FIG. 3, 4, Mosallaei and Jia teaches all the limitations of claim 4 Suzuki (FIG. 3, 4) discloses that the substrate ( is a dielectric film, (), and the plurality of first patterns and the plurality of second patterns are conductive metal films, ((page 6 of translation, Metals wires are placed on front and back of a dielectric substrate)
Suzuki does not explicitly teach heat tolerant film.
However, Song teaches heat tolerant film on the lens substrate (benzocyclobutene (BCB.) [0012]see applicant’s specification at [0019] BCB is a heat tolerant film)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to have modified claim 4, to use BCB on the substrate as taught by Song, to use BCB protect the substrate because the heat tolerant property
With respect to claim 19, the combination of Suzuki (Suzuki (FIG. 1), Mosallaei and Jia teaches all the limitations of claim 5, Suzuki (FIG. 3, 4) discloses that the substrate ( is a dielectric film, (), and the plurality of first patterns and the plurality of second patterns are conductive metal films, ((page 6 of translation, Metals wires are placed on front and back of a dielectric substrate)
Suzuki does not explicitly teach heat tolerant film.
However, Song teaches heat tolerant film on the lens substrate (benzocyclobutene (BCB.) [0012]see applicant’s specification at [0019] BCB is a heat tolerant film)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to have modified claim 5, to use BCB on the substrate as taught by Song, to use BCB protect the substrate because the heat tolerant property
With respect to claim 20, the combination of Suzuki (Suzuki (FIG. 1), Mosallaei and Jia and Song teaches all the limitations of claim 10; uzuki further disclose “wherein the plurality of first patterns and the plurality of second patterns are formed of metal (page 6 of translation, Metals wires are placed on front and back of a dielectric substrate)
Suzuki does not teach about the metal is gold, silver, copper or aluminum
Mosallaei teaches the metal layer is made of gold, silver, copper, or aluminum,” (metal patch made of gold [0022]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Suzuki) to gold as metal wire as taught by Mosallaei, to gold as metal conductive wire because the gold is highly resistant to oxidation and corrosion, and is extremely malleable
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Brown (US 8681428 B1) teaches high refractive index, polarization insensitive nano-rod based plasmonic Metamaterials.
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/PINPING SUN/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2872
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