DETAILED ACTION
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 11/05/2025 has been entered.
Response to Remarks
1. Applicant’s remarks (see pgs. 6-7), filed 11/05/2025, regarding the prior art rejection of the claims under 35 U.S.C 102 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant appears to make arguments that the newly amended claim 1 limitation directed to the two drives of the EOM is not disclosed by the Yang reference, specifically Applicant asserts that “Yang merely discloses using a single EOM tone for the blue and red sidebands” (see pgs. 6-7 of Remarks). However, such arguments unaccompanied by evidentiary support is insufficient to rebut Examiner's findings of obviousness. Arguments of counsel cannot take the place of evidence in the record. See In re Schulze, 346 F.2d 600, 602, 145 USPQ 716, 718 (CCPA 1965); In re Geisler, 116 F.3d 1465, 43 USPQ2d 1362 (Fed. Cir. 1997) ("An assertion of what seems to follow from common experience is just attorney argument and not the kind of factual evidence that is required to rebut a prima facie case of obviousness."). Applicant’s arguments also do not comply with 37 CFR 1.111(c) because they do not clearly point out the patentable novelty which he or she thinks the claims present in view of the state of the art disclosed by the references cited or the objections made. Furthermore, these arguments do not sufficiently show how the amendments avoid such references or objections. Applicant also appears to have selected a certain paragraph of the Yang reference to dispute that Yang fails to teach the newly-amended limitation at hand, however, the Examiner respectfully disagrees with Applicant’s narrow selection of said disclosure. A reference disclosure can anticipate a claim when the reference describes the limitations but "'d[oes] not expressly spell out' the limitations as arranged or combined as in the claim, if a person of skill in the art, reading the reference, would ‘at once envisage’ the claimed arrangement or combination." Kennametal, Inc. v. Ingersoll Cutting Tool Co., 780 F.3d 1376, 1381, 114 USPQ2d 1250, 1254 (Fed. Cir. 2015) (quoting In re Petering, 301 F.2d 676, 681(CCPA 1962)). See MPEP § 2131.02. In the present case, Yang does disclose at least two EOM drive tones of the EOM and an AOM drive tone of the AOM (p. 1 c. 2: dual-tone narrow-band laser beams at wavelengths of 411nm and 3432 nm; p. 6 c. 1: The conversion between the S-qubit and the F-qubit is accomplished via 411nm and 3432nm laser; p. 3 c. 1: an S-qubit can first be transferred to the D5/2 levels through a 411nm pulse [first drive tone] with suitable microwave sidebands for 0 and 1 simultaneously. Then another 3432nm pulse [second drive tone of EOM], again with suitable microwave side-bands, finishes the conversion to the F-qubit; p. 6 c. 1: an acousto-optical modulator (AOM) controlled by a home-made direct digital synthesizer (DDS) to quickly change the carrier frequency). Secondly, Yang also discloses the newly amended limitation of to creating a blue-shifted sideband that is resonant with at least a higher-frequency transition based on a first EOM drive tone of the at least two EOM drive tones and a red-shifted sideband that is resonant with at least a lower-frequency transition based on a second EOM drive tone of the at least two EOM drive tones (p. 6 c. 1: For Doppler cooling, the laser is set to be about 10MHz red detuned from the S1/2; F = 1 <-> P1/2; F = 0 transition with a 14.7 GHz sideband for the S1/2; F = 0 <-> P1/2; F = 1 transition. For optical pumping into 0, the laser is set to be resonant with the S1/2; F = 1 <-> P1/2; F = 0 transition with a 2.1 GHz sideband for the S1/2; F = 1 <-> P1/2; F = 1 transition; FIG. 1 caption: The two transfer paths are traversed simultaneously by turning on suitable sidebands for the hyperfine splitting in the 411nm and the 3432nm pi pulses; see FIG. 1c showing red shifted sideband resonant with lower frequency transition 0 <-> 0’ and blue shifted sideband resonant with higher frequency transition 1 <-> 1’). Thus, the Examiner maintains that Yang teaches the aforementioned limitation of the newly-amended Claim 1, as explained in further detail below.
Applicant appears to make arguments that “Olmschenk fails to cure the deficiencies of Yang. Specifically, Olmschenk also only has a single EOM drive tone…Olmschenk does not even mention using the optical transitions to perform any coherent manipulations” (see pg. 7 of Remarks). However, the Examiner notes that Applicant’s assertions do not appear to be factually correct; to the contrary, Olmschenk (hereinafter ‘O’) discloses at least two adjustable drive tones of the EOM (p. 3 c. 1 of O: large bandwidth of the fiber EOM allows the laser to be scanned over a wide range…continuous tuning of the fiber EOM over nearly 20 GHz enables the spectroscopic measurement of the hyperfine structure; p.3 c. 2: the rf applied to the fiber EOM was varied in 0.5 MHz steps over the areas of interest…The rf used to drive this fiber EOM is tuned such that one of the resulting first-order sidebands is resonant with the cavity; see FIG. 6 showing widely tunable EOM), and O further discloses that said EOM drive tones produces sidebands resonant with optical transitions in Yb+ trapped ion that result in coherent qubits (p. 3 c. 2 of O: The rf used to drive this fiber EOM is tuned such that one of the resulting first-order sidebands is resonant with the cavity; p. 7 c. 1: the 935.2 nm light is passed through a fiber EOM that produces a first-order sideband resonant with the 2D3/2 <-> 3D[3/2]1/2 transition of 174Yb+; p. 1 c. 1-2: detected qubit is stored in the first-order magnetic field-insensitive hyperfine levels of the ground state of Yb+ [DSSS ion trap] with a coherence time of the qubit to be 2.5 s; see FIGS. 1 & 5 showing optical transition via application of light resonant with 2S1/2 F=1 <-> 2P1/2 F=1 transition). Thus, Applicants arguments remain unpersuasive and insufficient to rebut Examiner's factual findings regarding the teachings of the Olmschenk reference.
2. Applicant’s remaining remarks regarding the newly-amended limitation specifically directed to ‘the adjustable features of the at least two drive tones of the EOM’ (see pg. 7 of Remarks) have been fully considered but are moot upon further consideration because the new grounds of rejection in light of a change of statutory basis and in light of Olmschenk et al.’s teachings are necessitated by the Applicant’s amendments (on 11/05/2025), as detailed below.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement(s) filed on 11/06/2025 is/are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97 and is/are being considered by the Examiner.
Priority
Applicant’s claim for the benefit of a prior-filed application under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) or under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, 365(c), or 386(c) is acknowledged. Applicant has not complied with one or more conditions for receiving the benefit of an earlier filing date under 35 U.S.C. 120 as follows:
The later-filed application must be an application for a patent for an invention which is also disclosed in the prior application (the parent or original nonprovisional application or provisional application). The disclosure of the invention in the parent application and in the later-filed application must be sufficient to comply with the requirements of 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, except for the best mode requirement. See Transco Products, Inc. v. Performance Contracting, Inc., 38 F.3d 551, 32 USPQ2d 1077 (Fed. Cir. 1994).
The disclosure of the prior-filed application, Application No. 63/222,765 (filed 07/16/2021), fails to provide adequate support or enablement in the manner provided by 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, first paragraph for one or more claims of this application, namely: adjusting two EOM drive tones to create blue-shifted and red-shifted sidebands as claimed, driving at least a first channel of the AOM at a first frequency between 50 megahertz (MHz) and 350 MHz, and driving at least a second channel of the EOM at a second frequency between 4 gigahertz (GHz) and 6 GHz; wherein driving the at least second channel of the EOM comprises: driving a radio frequency (RF) tone; and driving a microwave tone; wherein driving the microwave tone comprises driving at microwave frequencies by a microwave source; wherein driving the RF tone comprises driving at a coherent frequency (fcoh), as recited in claims 1, 3-6, 8, 10-13, 15 and 17-20 (see amended claims filed 11/05/2025).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claims 1-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yang et al. (NPL titled “Realizing coherently convertible dual-type...” (June 28, 2021)) in view of Olmschenk et al. (NPL titled “Manipulation and detection…” (2007)).
Regarding Claim 1, Yang discloses: A method of operating a quantum information processing (QIP) system (p. 1 c. 1: quantum computers/computing), comprising: applying, through an acousto-optic modulator (AOM) disposed in series with an electro-optic modulator (EOM) (p. 6 c. 1: we turn on different electro-optical modulators (EOMs) to generate the desired microwave sidebands; p. 6 c. 1: we use an acousto-optical modulator (AOM) controlled by a home-made direct digital synthesizer (DDS) to quickly change the carrier frequency; the Examiner notes that it is commonly known in the art of circuits that an EOM and an AOM would be disposed in series within the same quantum computer system to achieve the modulations as claimed, see e.g., FIG. 3 (pg. 052314-3) of evidentiary reference of NPL by Olmschenk et al. disclosing an electro-optic modulator (EOM) and an acousto-optic modulator (AOM) disposed in series with the EOM in a quantum information processing system), a global optical beam to a plurality of dual-space, single-species (DSSS) trapped ions at a wavelength near a transition center (p. 4 c. 1, p. 2 c. 2 & p. 1 c. 2: 411 nm and 3432 nm lasers co-propagating with 355 nm Raman laser beams; FIG. 1: laser beams; p. 1 c. 1-2, p. 4 c. 2: we have experimentally demonstrated dual-type qubits that are coherently convertible to each other with the same species of 171Yb+ ions [single species]; p. 6 c. 1: 370nm laser beam which drives transitions between S1/2 and P1/2 of the 171Yb+ ions; FIG. 3 caption: “We initialize the S-qubit in |0>, drive the Raman transition between |0> and |1>”); and at least two EOM drive tones of the EOM and an AOM drive tone of the AOM (p. 1 c. 2: dual-tone narrow-band laser beams at wavelengths of 411nm and 3432 nm; p. 6 c. 1: The conversion between the S-qubit and the F-qubit is accomplished via 411nm and 3432nm laser; p. 3 c. 1: an S-qubit can first be transferred to the D5/2 levels through a 411nm pulse [first drive tone] with suitable microwave sidebands for 0 and 1 simultaneously. Then another 3432nm pulse [second drive tone of EOM], again with suitable microwave side-bands, finishes the conversion to the F-qubit; p. 6 c. 1: an acousto-optical modulator (AOM) controlled by a home-made direct digital synthesizer (DDS) to quickly change the carrier frequency) to modulate the global beam to emit at approximately half of a S1/2 hyperfine frequency (p. 6 c. 1-2: To maintain the coherence during the qubit type conversion, we drive the two transition paths for the two basis states of the qubit simultaneously. This is achieved by using the two first-order sideband frequency components generated by an EOM. We tune the carrier frequency of the laser to the central frequency of the transitions and set the driving frequency on the EOM to be half of the frequency difference between the two paths; FIGS. 1c & 2: “coherent conversion between two qubit types of the S-qubit and the F-qubit. The two transfer paths are traversed simultaneously by turning on suitable sidebands for the hyperfine splitting”; p. 2 c. 1: Each ion can be in one of the two qubit types, encoded either in the clock states |0> and |1> of the S1/2 levels (S-qubit) or |0’> and |1’> of the metastable F7/2 levels) to create a blue-shifted sideband that is resonant with at least a higher-frequency transition based on a first EOM drive tone of the at least two EOM drive tones and a red-shifted sideband that is resonant with at least a lower-frequency transition based on a second EOM drive tone of the at least two EOM drive tones (p. 6 c. 1: For Doppler cooling, the laser is set to be about 10MHz red detuned from the S1/2; F = 1 <-> P1/2; F = 0 transition with a 14.7 GHz sideband for the S1/2; F = 0 <-> P1/2; F = 1 transition. For optical pumping into 0, the laser is set to be resonant with the S1/2; F = 1 <-> P1/2; F = 0 transition with a 2.1 GHz sideband for the S1/2; F = 1 <-> P1/2; F = 1 transition; FIG. 1 caption: The two transfer paths are traversed simultaneously by turning on suitable sidebands for the hyperfine splitting in the 411nm and the 3432nm pi pulses; see FIG. 1c showing red shifted sideband resonant with lower frequency transition 0 <-> 0’ and blue shifted sideband resonant with higher frequency transition 1 <-> 1’).
Although Yang discloses two EOM drive tones and an adjustable AOM drive tone to modulate the global beam to emit at approximately half of a Si/2 hyperfine frequency to create a blue-shifted sideband that is resonant with at least a higher- frequency transition based on a first EOM drive tone of the at least two EOM drive tones and a red-shifted sideband that is resonant with at least a lower-frequency transition based on a second EOM drive tone of the at least two EOM drive tones, (see rejection of claim 1 supra) Yang does not appear to explicitly disclose: adjustable EOM drive tones.
Olmschenk is related to Yang with respect to a method of operating a quantum information processing system comprising applying a global optical beam to a plurality of dual-space, single-species trapped ions at a wavelength near a transition center via an AOM and an EOM in series (p. 1 c. 1-2: qubit stored in the first-order magnetic field-insensitive hyperfine levels of the ground state of Yb+ [DSSS ion trap] with a coherence time of the qubit to be 2.5 s) and Olmschenk teaches: adjustable EOM drive tones (p. 3 c. 1: large bandwidth of the fiber EOM allows the laser to be scanned over a wide range…continuous tuning of the fiber EOM over nearly 20 GHz enables the spectroscopic measurement of the hyperfine structure; p.3 c. 2: the rf applied to the fiber EOM was varied in 0.5 MHz steps over the areas of interest… The rf used to drive this fiber EOM is tuned such that one of the resulting first-order sidebands is resonant with the cavity; see FIG. 6 showing widely tunable EOM).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Yang in view of Olmschenk to satisfy the claimed condition because such adjustable EOM drive tones are known and would be selected as widely tunable with a large bandwidth which is used to generate a frequency component to depopulate the manifold during cooling and optical pumping, and to allow the laser to be scanned over a wide range while remaining locked to a given absorption line (pg. 4 col. 2 (FIG. 6 caption) and pg. 3 col. 1 of Olmschenk). Thus, the continuous tuning of the fiber EOM over nearly 20 GHz which enables the spectroscopic measurement of the hyperfine structure, as taught in pg. 3, col. 1 of Olmschenk.
Regarding Claim 2, Yang discloses the method according to Claim 1, as above. Yang does not appear to explicitly disclose: wherein adjusting the at least two EOM drive tones comprises adjusting one or more of a frequency, a phase, or an amplitude of each of the at least two EOM drive tones.
Olmschenk is related to Yang with respect to a method of operating a quantum information processing system comprising applying a global optical beam to a plurality of dual-space, single-species trapped ions at a wavelength near a transition center via an AOM and an EOM in series (p. 1 c. 1-2: qubit stored in the first-order magnetic field-insensitive hyperfine levels of the ground state of Yb+ [DSSS ion trap] with a coherence time of the qubit to be 2.5 s) and Olmschenk teaches: wherein adjusting the at least two EOM drive tones comprises adjusting one or more of a frequency, a phase, or an amplitude of each of the at least two EOM drive tones (p. 3 c. 1: large bandwidth of the fiber EOM allows the laser to be scanned over a wide range…continuous tuning of the fiber EOM over nearly 20 GHz enables the spectroscopic measurement of the hyperfine structure; p.3 c. 2: the rf applied to the fiber EOM was varied in 0.5 MHz steps over the areas of interest…The rf used to drive this fiber EOM is tuned such that one of the resulting first-order sidebands is resonant with the cavity; see FIG. 6 showing widely tunable EOM).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Yang in view of Olmschenk to satisfy the claimed condition because such adjustable EOM drive tones are known and would be selected as widely tunable with a large bandwidth which is used to generate a frequency component to depopulate the manifold during cooling and optical pumping, and to allow the laser to be scanned over a wide range while remaining locked to a given absorption line (pg. 4 col. 2 (FIG. 6 caption) and pg. 3 col. 1 of Olmschenk). Thus, the continuous tuning of the fiber EOM over nearly 20 GHz which enables the spectroscopic measurement of the hyperfine structure, as taught in pg. 3, col. 1 of Olmschenk.
Regarding Claim 3, Yang discloses the method according to Claim 1, as above. Yang further discloses: driving at least a first channel of the AOM at a first frequency between 50 megahertz (MHz) and 350 MHz; and driving at least a second channel of the EOM at a second frequency between 4 gigahertz (GHz) and 6 GHz (p. 6 c. 1-2: This is achieved by using the two first-order sideband frequency components generated by an EOM… using 3.62 GHz microwaves for the F-qubit (~4 GHz which satisfies claimed second channel driving frequency); p. 6 c. 1: To switch the role of the laser beam, we use an acousto-optical modulator (AOM) controlled by a home-made direct digital synthesizer (DDS) to quickly change the carrier frequency; FIG. 1b: 191 MHz frequency for F-qubit detection (~191 MHz satisfies claimed first channel driving frequency of AOM)).
Regarding Claim 4, Yang discloses the method according to Claim 3, as above. Yang further discloses: wherein driving the at least second channel of the EOM comprises: driving a radio frequency (RF) tone; and driving a microwave tone (see FIG. 3d; p. 3 c. 1: Then another 3432 nm pi pulse, again with suitable microwave sidebands, finishes the conversion to the F-qubit; p. 4 c. 1: we add a microwave pi pulse in the experimental sequence; p. 2 c. 2 & p. 6 c. 1-2: This is achieved by using the two first-order sideband frequency components generated by an EOM…using 3.6 GHz microwaves for the F-qubit; the Examiner notes that it is commonly know that radio frequency tone possesses a range from 3 kHz to 300 GHz).
Regarding Claim 5, Yang discloses the method according to Claim 4, as above. Yang further discloses: wherein driving the microwave tone comprises driving at microwave frequencies by a microwave source (p. 2 c. 2 & p. 6 c. 1-2: This is achieved by using the two first-order sideband frequency components generated by an EOM…the F-qubit can then be operated by 3.6 GHz microwaves [microwave tone produced by microwave source]).
Regarding Claim 6, Yang discloses the method according to Claim 4, as above. Yang further discloses: wherein driving the RF tone comprises driving at a coherent frequency (fcoh) (p. 3 c. 1 & p. 2 c. 2: The two qubit types can be converted into each other coherently in less than one microsecond with suitable GHz microwave sidebands [RF tone]; 6 c. 1: to maintain the coherence during the qubit type conversion, we drive the two transition paths for the two basis states of the qubit simultaneously).
Regarding Claim 7, Yang discloses the method according to Claim 1, as above. Yang further discloses: wherein applying the global beam comprises applying the global beam having a carrier frequency that is an offset frequency (foffset) away from the transition center (p. 3 c. 1: an S-qubit can first be transferred to the D5/2 levels through a 411nm pi pulse [offset] with suitable microwave sidebands for|0> and |1> simultaneously. Then another 3432nm pi pulse, again with suitable microwave sidebands, finishes the conversion to the F-qubit).
Regarding Claim 8, Yang discloses: A quantum information processing (QIP) system (p. 1 c. 1: quantum computers/computing), comprising: an electro-optic modulator (EOM); an acousto-optic modulator (AOM) disposed in series with the EOM; and a light source configured to apply (p. 4 c. 1, p. 2 c. 2 & p. 1 c. 2: 411 nm and 3432 nm lasers co-propagating with 355 nm Raman laser beams; FIG. 1: laser beams;), through the AOM and the EOM (p. 6 c. 1: we turn on different electro-optical modulators (EOMs) to generate the desired microwave sidebands; p. 6 c. 1: we use an acousto-optical modulator (AOM) controlled by a home-made direct digital synthesizer (DDS) to quickly change the carrier frequency; the Examiner notes that it is commonly known in the art of circuits that an EOM and an AOM would be electrically connected in series within the same quantum computer system to achieve the modulations as claimed, see e.g., FIG. 3 (pg. 052314-3) of evidentiary reference of NPL by Olmschenk et al. disclosing an electro-optic modulator (EOM) and an acousto-optic modulator (AOM) disposed in series with the EOM in a quantum information processing system), a global optical beam to a plurality of dual-space, single-species (DSSS) trapped ions at a wavelength near a transition center (p. 4 c. 1, p. 2 c. 2 & p. 1 c. 2: 411 nm and 3432 nm lasers co-propagating with 355 nm Raman laser beams; FIG. 1: laser beams; p. 1 c. 1-2, p. 4 c. 2: we have experimentally demonstrated dual-type qubits that are coherently convertible to each other with the same species of 171Yb+ ions [single species]; p. 6 c. 1: 370nm laser beam which drives transitions between S1/2 and P1/2 of the 171Yb+ ions; FIG. 3 caption: “We initialize the S-qubit in |0>, drive the Raman transition between |0> and |1>”); and a driver configured to drive at least two EOM drive tones of the EOM and an AOM drive tone of the AOM (p. 1 c. 2: dual-tone narrow-band laser beams at wavelengths of 411nm and 3432 nm; p. 6 c. 1: The conversion between the S-qubit and the F-qubit is accomplished via 411nm and 3432nm laser; p. 3 c. 1: an S-qubit can first be transferred to the D5/2 levels through a 411nm pulse [first drive tone] with suitable microwave sidebands for 0 and 1 simultaneously. Then another 3432nm pulse [second drive tone of EOM], again with suitable microwave side-bands, finishes the conversion to the F-qubit; p. 6 c. 1: an acousto-optical modulator (AOM) controlled by a home-made direct digital synthesizer (DDS) to quickly change the carrier frequency) to modulate the global beam to emit at approximately half of a S1/2 hyperfine frequency to create a blue-shifted sideband that is resonant with at least a higher-frequency transition based on a first EOM drive tone of the at least two EOM drive tones and a red-shifted sideband that is resonant with at least a lower-frequency transition based on a second EOM drive tone of the at least two EOM drive tones (p. 6 c. 1-2: To maintain the coherence during the qubit type conversion, we drive the two transition paths for the two basis states of the qubit simultaneously. This is achieved by using the two first-order sideband frequency components generated by an EOM. We tune the carrier frequency of the laser to the central frequency of the transitions and set the driving frequency on the EOM to be half of the frequency difference between the two paths; FIGS. 1c & 2: “coherent conversion between two qubit types of the S-qubit and the F-qubit. The two transfer paths are traversed simultaneously by turning on suitable sidebands for the hyperfine splitting”; p. 2 c. 1: Each ion can be in one of the two qubit types, encoded either in the clock states |0> and |1> of the S1/2 levels (S-qubit) or |0’> and |1’> of the metastable F7/2 levels; FIG. 1 caption: The two transfer paths are traversed simultaneously by turning on suitable sidebands for the hyperfine splitting in the 411nm and the 3432nm pi pulses; see FIG. 1c showing red shifted sideband resonant with lower frequency transition 0 <-> 0’ and blue shifted sideband resonant with higher frequency transition 1 <-> 1’).
Although Yang discloses two EOM drive tones and an adjustable AOM drive tone to modulate the global beam to emit at approximately half of a Si/2 hyperfine frequency to create a blue-shifted sideband that is resonant with at least a higher- frequency transition based on a first EOM drive tone of the at least two EOM drive tones and a red-shifted sideband that is resonant with at least a lower-frequency transition based on a second EOM drive tone of the at least two EOM drive tones, (see rejection of claim 1 supra) Yang does not appear to explicitly disclose: adjustable EOM drive tones.
Olmschenk is related to Yang with respect to a method of operating a quantum information processing system comprising applying a global optical beam to a plurality of dual-space, single-species trapped ions at a wavelength near a transition center via an AOM and an EOM in series (p. 1 c. 1-2: qubit stored in the first-order magnetic field-insensitive hyperfine levels of the ground state of Yb+ [DSSS ion trap] with a coherence time of the qubit to be 2.5 s) and Olmschenk teaches: adjustable EOM drive tones (p. 3 c. 1: large bandwidth of the fiber EOM allows the laser to be scanned over a wide range…continuous tuning of the fiber EOM over nearly 20 GHz enables the spectroscopic measurement of the hyperfine structure; p.3 c. 2: the rf applied to the fiber EOM was varied in 0.5 MHz steps over the areas of interest… The rf used to drive this fiber EOM is tuned such that one of the resulting first-order sidebands is resonant with the cavity; see FIG. 6 showing widely tunable EOM).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Yang in view of Olmschenk to satisfy the claimed condition because such adjustable EOM drive tones are known and would be selected as widely tunable with a large bandwidth which is used to generate a frequency component to depopulate the manifold during cooling and optical pumping, and to allow the laser to be scanned over a wide range while remaining locked to a given absorption line (pg. 4 col. 2 (FIG. 6 caption) and pg. 3 col. 1 of Olmschenk). Thus, the continuous tuning of the fiber EOM over nearly 20 GHz which enables the spectroscopic measurement of the hyperfine structure, as taught in pg. 3, col. 1 of Olmschenk.
Regarding Claim 9, Yang discloses the QIP system according to Claim 8, as above. Yang further discloses: wherein the driver is further configured to adjust one or more of a frequency, a phase, or an amplitude of each of the at least two EOM drive tones (see rejection of claim 2 supra).
Regarding Claim 10, Yang discloses the QIP system according to Claim 8, as above. Yang further discloses: wherein the driver is further configured to: drive at least a first channel of the AOM at a first frequency between 50 megahertz (MHz) and 350 MHz; and drive at least a second channel of the EOM at a second frequency between 4 gigahertz (GHz) and 6 GHz (see rejection of claim 3 supra).
Regarding Claim 11, Yang discloses the QIP system according to Claim 10, as above. Yang further discloses: wherein the driver is further configured to: drive a radio frequency (RF) tone; and drive a microwave tone (see rejection of claim 4 supra).
Regarding Claim 12, Yang discloses the QIP system according to Claim 11, as above. Yang further discloses: wherein the driver is further configured to drive the microwave tone at microwave frequencies by a microwave source (see rejection of claim 5 supra).
Regarding Claim 13, Yang discloses the QIP system according to Claim 11, as above. Yang further discloses: wherein the driver is further configured to drive the RF tone at a coherent frequency (fcoh) (see rejection of claim 6 supra).
Regarding Claim 14, Yang discloses the QIP system according to Claim 8, as above. Yang further discloses: wherein the first light source is further configured to apply the global beam having a carrier frequency that is an offset frequency (foffset) away from the transition center (see rejection of claim 7 supra).
Regarding Claim 15, Yang discloses: A non-transitory computer readable medium having instructions stored therein that, when executed by one or more processors of a quantum information processing (QIP) system, cause the one or more processors to (p. 1 c. 1-2: quantum computers): cause a light source to apply, through an acousto-optic modulator (AOM) disposed in series with an electro-optic modulator (EOM) (p. 6 c. 1: we turn on different electro-optical modulators (EOMs) to generate the desired microwave sidebands; p. 6 c. 1: we use an acousto-optical modulator (AOM) controlled by a home-made direct digital synthesizer (DDS) to quickly change the carrier frequency; the Examiner notes that it is commonly known in the art of circuits that an EOM and an AOM would be electrically connected in series within the same quantum computer system to achieve the modulations as claimed, see e.g., FIG. 3 (pg. 052314-3) of evidentiary reference of NPL by Olmschenk et al. disclosing an electro-optic modulator (EOM) and an acousto-optic modulator (AOM) disposed in series with the EOM in a quantum information processing system), a global optical beam to a plurality of dual-space, single-species (DSSS) trapped ions at a wavelength near a transition center (p. 4 c. 1, p. 2 c. 2 & p. 1 c. 2: 411 nm and 3432 nm lasers co-propagating with 355 nm Raman laser beams; FIG. 1: laser beams; p. 1 c. 1-2, p. 4 c. 2: we have experimentally demonstrated dual-type qubits that are coherently convertible to each other with the same species of 171Yb+ ions [single species]; p. 6 c. 1: 370nm laser beam which drives transitions between S1/2 and P1/2 of the 171Yb+ ions); and cause a driver to at least two EOM drive tones of the EOM and an AOM drive tone of the AOM (. 1 c. 2: dual-tone narrow-band laser beams at wavelengths of 411nm and 3432 nm; p. 6 c. 1: The conversion between the S-qubit and the F-qubit is accomplished via 411nm and 3432nm laser; p. 3 c. 1: an S-qubit can first be transferred to the D5/2 levels through a 411nm pulse [first drive tone] with suitable microwave sidebands for 0 and 1 simultaneously. Then another 3432nm pulse [second drive tone of EOM], again with suitable microwave side-bands, finishes the conversion to the F-qubit; p. 6 c. 1: an acousto-optical modulator (AOM) controlled by a home-made direct digital synthesizer (DDS) to quickly change the carrier frequency) to modulate the at least one Raman beam to emit at approximately half of a S1/2 hyperfine frequency (FIG. 3 caption: “We initialize the S-qubit in |0>, drive the Raman transition between |0> and |1>”; p. 6 c. 1-2: To maintain the coherence during the qubit type conversion, we drive the two transition paths for the two basis states of the qubit simultaneously. This is achieved by using the two first-order sideband frequency components generated by an EOM. We tune the carrier frequency of the laser to the central frequency of the transitions and set the driving frequency on the EOM to be half of the frequency difference between the two paths; FIGS. 1c & 2: “coherent conversion between two qubit types of the S-qubit and the F-qubit. The two transfer paths are traversed simultaneously by turning on suitable sidebands for the hyperfine splitting”; p. 2 c. 1: Each ion can be in one of the two qubit types, encoded either in the clock states |0> and |1> of the S1/2 levels (S-qubit) or |0’> and |1’> of the metastable F7/2 levels) to create a blue-shifted sideband that is resonant with at least a higher-frequency transition based on a first EOM drive tone of the at least two EOM drive tones and a red-shifted sideband that is resonant with at least a lower-frequency transition based on a second EOM drive tone of the at least two EOM drive tones (p. 6 c. 1: For Doppler cooling, the laser is set to be about 10MHz red detuned from the S1/2; F = 1 <-> P1/2; F = 0 transition with a 14.7 GHz sideband for the S1/2; F = 0 <-> P1/2; F = 1 transition. For optical pumping into 0, the laser is set to be resonant with the S1/2; F = 1 <-> P1/2; F = 0 transition with a 2.1 GHz sideband for the S1/2; F = 1 <-> P1/2; F = 1 transition; FIG. 1 caption: The two transfer paths are traversed simultaneously by turning on suitable sidebands for the hyperfine splitting in the 411nm and the 3432nm pi pulses; see FIG. 1c showing red shifted sideband resonant with lower frequency transition 0 <-> 0’ and blue shifted sideband resonant with higher frequency transition 1 <-> 1’).
Although Yang discloses two EOM drive tones and an adjustable AOM drive tone to modulate the global beam to emit at approximately half of a Si/2 hyperfine frequency to create a blue-shifted sideband that is resonant with at least a higher- frequency transition based on a first EOM drive tone of the at least two EOM drive tones and a red-shifted sideband that is resonant with at least a lower-frequency transition based on a second EOM drive tone of the at least two EOM drive tones, (see rejection of claim 1 supra) Yang does not appear to explicitly disclose: adjustable EOM drive tones.
Olmschenk is related to Yang with respect to a method of operating a quantum information processing system comprising applying a global optical beam to a plurality of dual-space, single-species trapped ions at a wavelength near a transition center via an AOM and an EOM in series (p. 1 c. 1-2: qubit stored in the first-order magnetic field-insensitive hyperfine levels of the ground state of Yb+ [DSSS ion trap] with a coherence time of the qubit to be 2.5 s) and Olmschenk teaches: adjustable EOM drive tones (p. 3 c. 1: large bandwidth of the fiber EOM allows the laser to be scanned over a wide range…continuous tuning of the fiber EOM over nearly 20 GHz enables the spectroscopic measurement of the hyperfine structure; p.3 c. 2: the rf applied to the fiber EOM was varied in 0.5 MHz steps over the areas of interest… The rf used to drive this fiber EOM is tuned such that one of the resulting first-order sidebands is resonant with the cavity; see FIG. 6 showing widely tunable EOM).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Yang in view of Olmschenk to satisfy the claimed condition because such adjustable EOM drive tones are known and would be selected as widely tunable with a large bandwidth which is used to generate a frequency component to depopulate the manifold during cooling and optical pumping, and to allow the laser to be scanned over a wide range while remaining locked to a given absorption line (pg. 4 col. 2 (FIG. 6 caption) and pg. 3 col. 1 of Olmschenk). Thus, the continuous tuning of the fiber EOM over nearly 20 GHz which enables the spectroscopic measurement of the hyperfine structure, as taught in pg. 3, col. 1 of Olmschenk.
Regarding Claim 16, Yang discloses the non-transitory computer readable medium according to Claim 15, as above. Yang further discloses: wherein the instructions for causing the driver to adjust the at least two EOM drive tones comprises instructions for causing the driver to adjust one or more of a frequency, a phase, or an amplitude of each of the at least two EOM drive tones (see rejection of claim 2 supra).
Regarding Claim 17, Yang discloses the non-transitory computer readable medium according to Claim 15, as above. Yang further discloses: further comprises instructions to cause the driver to: drive at least a first channel of the AOM at a first frequency between 50 megahertz (MHz) and 350 MHz; and drive at least a second channel of the EOM at a second frequency between 4 gigahertz (GHz) and 6 GHz (see rejection of claim 3 supra).
Regarding Claim 18, Yang discloses the non-transitory computer readable medium according to Claim 17, as above. Yang further discloses: wherein the instructions for driving the at least the second channel of the EOM comprises instructions for: driving a radio frequency (RF) tone; and driving a microwave tone (see rejection of claim 4 supra).
Regarding Claim 19, Yang discloses the non-transitory computer readable medium according to Claim 18, as above. Yang further discloses: wherein the instructions for driving the microwave tone comprises instructions for driving at microwave frequencies by a microwave source (see rejection of claim 5 supra).
Regarding Claim 20, Yang discloses the non-transitory computer readable medium according to Claim 17, as above. Yang further discloses: wherein the instructions for driving the RF tone comprises instructions for driving at a coherent frequency (fcoh) (see rejection of claim 6 supra).
Regarding Claim 21, Yang discloses the non-transitory computer readable medium according to Claim 15, as above. Yang further discloses: wherein the instructions for applying the global beam comprises instructions for applying the global beam having a carrier frequency that is an offset frequency (foffset) away from the transition center (see rejection of claim 7 supra).
Conclusion
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/SAMANVITHA SRIDHAR/ Examiner, Art Unit 2872
/BUMSUK WON/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2872