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
The drawing objection has been withdrawn because of Applicant amended the claim.
The 112(b) rejection regarding Independent claim 1 and dependent claims about “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 and have a width in the first direction and a width in the second direction equivalent to each other within a range of a half wavelength of the thermal radiation,” has been withdrawn because applicant amend the related limitation to “wherein, among the plurality of first patterns and the plurality of second patterns, a first pattern and a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 and have a width in the first direction and a width in the second direction that is the same.”
The 112(b) rejection regarding claim 4 and dependent claims of claim 4 about “the plurality of first patterns and the plurality of second patterns have a circular shape, and for a frequency 200 THz of the thermal radiation, a radius of the circular shape is from 120 nm to 145 nm, and the gap is from 10 nm to 60 nm, and for a frequency 50 THz of the thermal radiation, 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,” has been withdraw since the applicant amend the claim limitation to ,” 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, or, 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.”
The 112(b) rejection regarding claim 5 and dependent claims of claim 5 about “
the plurality of first patterns and the plurality of second patterns have a square shape, and for a frequency 200 THz of the thermal radiation, one side of the square shape is from 260 nm to 335 nm, and the gap is from 50 nm to 150 nm, and for a frequency 50 THz of the thermal radiation, 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.” has been withdraw since the applicant amend the claim limitation to ,” 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, or 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.”
Regarding to 103 rejection of claim 1, Applicant argues that Suzuki, para [0037] disclose the metamaterial is substantially non-refractive because para [0037] of Suzuki states that a sheet-type metamaterial having a nearly zero refractive index in terahertz wave band. Applicant further argued that Applicant’s invention relates to a high refractive index metasurface with a nonpolarizing structure, while the cited prior art relates to a zero refractive index metasurface with a structure having polarizing properties.
Examiner does not agree that Suzuki only discloses a substantially non-refractive metamaterial. as stated in the 112(b) rejection below, “substantially” is a relative term and was not defined in the specification. It is unclear what does a substantially refractive or substantially non-refractive means. For examination purpose, the substantially is interpreted as positive refractive index. And Fig. 4 of Suzuki disclose that a real part of complex refractive index is 0.75 (positive ) at 0.55 THz.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to nearly added “non-polarizing structure” 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 the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1, 4-20 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter “the substrate includes a material having a substantially refractive metasurface with a non-polarizing structure” which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. [0010] of specification may describes a “ FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a sheet-type material 10 according to the present embodiment as well as an enlarged drawing of a configuration of a unit cell 11 a. Here, the unit cell 11 a is a basic unit of a periodic structure of the sheet-type material 10. The sheet-type material 10 is a material capable of realizing the high refractive-index, non-reflective, and non-polarizing optical properties for a frequency band of thermal radiation (in the present embodiment, particularly, the above-described typical 50 THz band of 8 THz to 200 THz and 200 THz band of 5 THz to 1000 THz), and includes a substrate 11, and first and second pattern arrays 12, 13..”
The specification describes a sheet-type material (that includes a substrate 11, and the first and second pattern arrays) is capable of realizing high refractive-index, non-reflective and non-polarizing optical property, but the specification never mentioned the substrate (which is only part of sheet-type material) having a substantially refractive metasurface with a non-polarizing structure.
Claims 4-20 are rejected for the same reason because they depend on claim 1
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, 4-20 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.
The term “substantially” in claim 1 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “substantially” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. In fact, the specification does not even mention the substantially refractive. For examination purpose, substantially refractive metasurface is interpretated as positive refractive index meta surface.
In addition, it is unclear what is a metasurface with a non-polarizing structure since the specification does not mention a non-polarizing structure only describes a metasurface that is capable of realizing non-polarizing optical property. The limitation of a non-polarizing structure has been interpretated as a metasurface structure that is capable of realizing non-polarizing optical property
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 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Suzuki ( WO 2017/150098 A1 (cited by Applicant, and which is hereinafter referred to as “WO’098,” and which has a US equivalent member of its patent family, namely, US 2019/0074595 A1,1”)(FIG. 13) 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 (Fig. 1, Fig. 2) teaches thermal radiation lens configured to control propagation of thermal radiation, comprising:
a substrate ( e.g., 12, Fig. 1);
a plurality of first patterns arranged( 10a, Fig. 1), in a first region on one surface of the substrate ( front of 12, Fig. 1), regularly in a first direction ( x direction, Fig. 1) parallel to the one surface and in a second direction ( y direction, Fig. 1) crossing the first direction; and
a plurality of second patterns formed ( e.g., 11a, Fig. 1) , in a second region overlapping with the first region, on a back surface of the substrate ( 12, Fig. 1), to overlap with each of the plurality of first patterns ( e.g., 10a overlaps with 11a, Fig. 1),
wherein, among the plurality of first patterns ( e.g., 10a, Fig. 1) and the plurality of second patterns ( e.g., 11a, Fig. 1), a first pattern and a second pattern overlapping with each other ( see, Fig. 1, 10a and 11a are overlapped with each other, Fig. 1) with the substrate interposed therebetween have a same size and a same shape ( see Fig. 1, 10a and 11b are the same size and shape) , wherein the substrate includes a material having a substantially refractive metasurface (see Fig. 4, The real part Re (neff) increases further with frequency increase to about 0.75 at 0.55 THz. [0008] teaches Combining a material having a negative refractive index, a material having a zero refractive index, and a material having a positive refractive index also achieves a metamaterial lens having distributed refractive indexes, In the rejection of 112(b), For examination purpose, substantially refractive metasurface is interpretated as positive refractive index meta surface. )
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 substrate includes a material having a metasurface with a non-polarizing structure.
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 structure )
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 material having a metasurface with a non-polarizing structure, 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 (Fig. 1) 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 Mosallaei and Jia teaches all of the subject matter of claim 1; furthermore, Suzuki (FIG. 1) additionally discloses that “at least a portion of the plurality of first patterns (10a) and the plurality of second patterns (11a) is arranged with a gap interposed therebetween in the first direction (x-direction) and in the second direction (y-direction),” (as shown in FIG. 1, for substantially most (i.e., a portion) of the plurality of first patterns 10a 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)).
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, or 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 is from 120nm to 145 nm(which anticipates the claimed range from 120 nm to 145 nm).
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), 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, or 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.”
With respect to claim 5, the combination of Suzuki (Suzuki (FIG. 1), Mosallaei and Jia teaches all the limitations of claim 1. Suzuki ( Fig. 1) further discloses that “at least a portion of the plurality of first patterns (10a) and the plurality of second patterns (11a) is arranged with a gap interposed therebetween in the first direction (x-direction) and in the second direction (y-direction),” (as shown in FIG. 1, for substantially most (i.e., a portion) of the plurality of first patterns 10a 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).
Suzuki Fig. 1 teaches that the plurality of first patterns and the plurality of second patterns may have a rectangular shape with a design frequency set at 0.51 THz, a length dimension set approximately to a value to generate resonance at the working frequency, and a gap set an about 106 µm, (Suzuki, ¶¶ [0014], all lines, [0037], all lines, and [0038], all lines, and FIG. 1).
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 260 nm to 335 nm, and the gap is from 50 nm to 150 nm, or 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).
With respect to claim 8, the combination of Suzuki (Suzuki (FIG. 1), Mosallaei and Jia teaches all the limitations of claim 1, Suzuki further discloses “wherein the first region (see Annotated FIG. 1, Second Version, provided below) including the plurality of first patterns (10a) and the second region (which is on the back surface overlapping the first region) including the plurality of second patterns (11a) are arranged periodically in at least one axis direction (at least the x-axis direction) parallel to the one surface (the front surface)” as shown in Annotated FIG. 1, Second Version.
PNG
media_image1.png
746
1003
media_image1.png
Greyscale
With respect to claim 16, the combination of Suzuki (Suzuki (FIG. 1), Mosallaei and Jia teaches all the limitations of claim 4 , Suzuki ( Fig. 1) discloses “wherein the first region (see Annotated FIG. 1, Second Version, provided below) including the plurality of first patterns (10a) and the second region (which is on the back surface overlapping the first region) including the plurality of second patterns (11a) are arranged periodically in at least one axis direction (at least the x-axis direction) parallel to the one surface (the front surface).”
As would be appreciated by a person of ordinary skill in the art, for this thermal radiation lens of WO’098 (FIG. 13) as modified by WO’098 (FIG. 1) and Mosallaei, the patterns are circular rather than rectangular.
With respect to claim 17, the combination of Suzuki (Suzuki (FIG. 1), Mosallaei and Jia teaches all the limitations of claim 5 Suzuki ( Fig. 1) discloses “wherein the first region (see Annotated FIG. 1, Second Version, provided above) including the plurality of first patterns (10a) and the second region (which is on the back surface overlapping the first region) including the plurality of second patterns (11a) are arranged periodically in at least one axis direction (at least the x-axis direction) parallel to the one surface (the front surface)” as shown in Annotated FIG. 1, Second Version.
Claims 9, 10,11, 18, 19, 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Suzuki ( WO 2017/150098 A1 (cited by Applicant, and which is hereinafter referred to as “WO’098,” and which has a US equivalent member of its patent family, namely, US 2019/0074595 A1,”)(FIG. 13) 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. 1), Mosallaei and Jia teaches all the limitations of claim 1, Suzuki (FIG. 1) discloses that the substrate (12) is a dielectric film, (Suzuki, ¶¶ [0037], all lines, and [0038], all lines, disclosing that the substrate may be a dielectric film), and the plurality of first patterns (10a) and the plurality of second patterns (11a) are conductive metal films, (Suzuki, ¶¶ [0039], all lines, and [0041], lines 11-18, disclosing metal having favorable conductivity is used to etch the wires as metallic films).
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 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. 1), 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. 1), Mosallaei , Jia and Song teaches all the limitations of claim 9, Suzuki (FIG. 1) further disclose “wherein the plurality of first patterns (10a) and the plurality of second patterns (11a) are formed of gold, silver, copper, or aluminum,” (Suzuki, ¶¶ [0041], lines 16-19, and [0075], lines 44-46).
With respect to claim 18, the combination of Suzuki (Suzuki (FIG. 1), Mosallaei and Jia teaches all the limitations of claim 4 Suzuki (FIG. 1) discloses that the substrate (12) is a dielectric film, (Suzuki, ¶¶ [0037], all lines, and [0038], all lines, disclosing that the substrate may be a dielectric film), and the plurality of first patterns and the plurality of second patterns are conductive metal films, (Suzuki, ¶¶ [0039], all lines, and [0041], lines 11-18, disclosing metal having favorable conductivity is used to etch the wires as metallic films).
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 further (FIG. 1) discloses that the substrate (12) is a dielectric film, (Suzuki, ¶¶ [0037], all lines, and [0038], all lines, disclosing that the substrate may be a dielectric film), and the plurality of first patterns (10a) and the plurality of second patterns (11a) are conductive metal films, (Suzuki, ¶¶ [0039], all lines, and [0041], lines 11-18, disclosing metal having favorable conductivity is used to etch the wires as metallic films).
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 20, the combination of Suzuki (Suzuki (FIG. 1), Mosallaei and Jia and Song teaches all the limitations of claim 10; Suzuki further disclose “wherein the plurality of first patterns (10a) and the plurality of second patterns (11a) are formed of gold, silver, copper, or aluminum,” (Suzuki, ¶¶ [0041], lines 16-19, and [0075], lines 44-46).
Claim 6, 7, 13 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WO 2017/150098 A1 (cited by Applicant, and which is hereinafter referred to as “WO’098,” and which has a US equivalent member of its patent family, namely, US 2019/0074595 A1, which is hereinafter referred to as “Suzuki”)(FIG. 13) 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) as applied against claim 4, 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. 1), 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. 1), 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 13, the combination of Suzuki (Suzuki (FIG. 1), 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 15, the combination of Suzuki (Suzuki (FIG. 1), 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 12 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WO 2017/150098 A1 (cited by Applicant, and which is hereinafter referred to as “WO’098,” and which has a US equivalent member of its patent family, namely, US 2019/0074595 A1, which is hereinafter referred to as “Suzuki”)(FIG. 13)) and further 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) as applied against claim 5, 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 12, the combination of Suzuki (Suzuki (FIG. 1), 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 14, the combination of Suzuki (Suzuki (FIG. 1), 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 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 of 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).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Sridhar ( US 20090040132 A1) teaches about the circular lens components
Chen (A broadband achromatic polarization-insensitive metalens consisting of anisotropic nanostructures Nature Communications volume 10, Article number: 355 (2019) Published: 21 January 2019) teaches about polarization insensitive metalens.
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PINPING SUN whose telephone number is (571)270-1284. The examiner can normally be reached 9-5.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/PINPING SUN/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2872
1 For the sake of convenience, citations to WO’098 will be made by reciting to corresponding portions of Suzuki, which are in English since both one citing foreign priority for JP 2016 - 038296 , unless otherwise indicated to the contrary. In other words, Examiner will utilize Suzuki as substantially an English translation of WO’098.
Prosecution Insights