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 .
Response to argument
Applicant’s amendment of claim 5 and newly added claims 13-20 “Claims – 12/11/2025” necessitated the shift in new grounds of rejection detailed below. The applicant’s arguments are being treated within the body of the new rejection.
Pertinent Prior Art not Used to Reject Claims
Pettes (US 2021/0091240 A1; hereinafter Pettes) discloses a single photon emission from an indirect band gap2D material.
Shields et al. (US 7019333 B1; hereinafter Shields) discloses a photon source comprising: a quantum dot having a first and second energy level to emit single photon.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 5-9 and 13-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ohtsu et al. (M. Ohtsu and T.Kawazoe, "Principles and Practices of Si Light Emitting Diodes using Dressed Photons", Off-shell archive, Off-Shell: 1805R.001.vl., 2018).
Regarding Claim 5, Ohtsu (Figs.1-15) discloses a non-classical light source device, comprising: a semiconductor structure that comprises:
a first semiconductor region (n-type; Fig.9) having a conductivity type that is one of p-type or n-type,
a second semiconductor region (p-type; Fig.9) having a conductivity type that is the other of p-type or n-type,
a pn junction located between the first semiconductor region and the second semiconductor region (PN junction between the n-type and p-type), and a plurality of light-emitting regions discretely distributed along the pn junction, each of the light-emitting regions being adapted to emit non-classical light (page 6-7); and an electrode structure configured to apply a voltage to the pn junction (Fig.9 and pages 7-9; mesh electrode); wherein: a principal material of the first semiconductor region and the second semiconductor region is an indirect bandgap semiconductor (page 6-7); and
as viewed using an infrared camera with a spatial resolution of 10 um at a predetermined frame rate in a direction perpendicular to the pn junction, portions of light respectively emitted from the plurality of light-emitting regions are observed as being separated from one another (claims 5-20 are device claims and not process claims. For device claims, product-by-process claims are not limited to the manipulations of the recited steps, only the structure implied by the steps. MPEP 2113
Similarly, the manner of operating the device does not differentiate the device from the prior art. MPEP 2114).
Regarding Claim 6, The non-classical light source device of claim 5, Ohtsu (Page 7) discloses wherein the semiconductor structure has negative resistance.
Regarding Claim 7, The non-classical light source device of claim 5, Ohtsu (Fig.15; page 21) discloses wherein, as viewed in a direction perpendicular to the pn junction, between at least two of the plurality of light- emitting regions, an emission intensity at a predetermined cumulative time is different.
Regarding Claim 8, The non-classical light source device of claim 5, Ohtsu (Fig.1-2; page 5-7) discloses wherein, as viewed in a direction perpendicular to the pn junction, an area of the plurality of light-emitting regions is equal to or smaller than 25 um2.
Regarding Claim 9, The non-classical light source device of claim 5, Ohtsu (Page 4) discloses wherein: an energy of each of a plurality of photons of the non-classical light is lower than an energy of a bandgap of the indirect bandgap semiconductor.
Regarding Claim 13, The non-classical light source device of claim 5, wherein, as viewed in a direction perpendicular to the pn junction, a shape of the semiconductor structure is a polygon (Applicant should also note that using a camera to view emitted light in an intended use of the device and since the structure of the prior art meets the structure of the application therefore the characteristics would be the same (It has been held that a recitation with respect to the manner in which a claimed apparatus is intended to be employed does not differentiate the claimed apparatus from a prior art apparatus satisfying the claimed structural limitations. Ex Parte Masham, 2 USPQ F.2d 1647 (1987))).
Regarding Claim 14, The non-classical light source device of claim 5, wherein, as viewed in a direction perpendicular to the pn junction, a shape of the semiconductor structure is a square (Applicant should also note that using a camera to view emitted light in an intended use of the device and since the structure of the prior art meets the structure of the application therefore the characteristics would be the same (It has been held that a recitation with respect to the manner in which a claimed apparatus is intended to be employed does not differentiate the claimed apparatus from a prior art apparatus satisfying the claimed structural limitations. Ex Parte Masham, 2 USPQ F.2d 1647 (1987))).
Regarding Claim 15, The non-classical light source device of claim 5, wherein the non-classical light is light representing antibunching of photons (Applicant should also note that using a camera to view emitted light in an intended use of the device and since the structure of the prior art meets the structure of the application therefore the characteristics would be the same (It has been held that a recitation with respect to the manner in which a claimed apparatus is intended to be employed does not differentiate the claimed apparatus from a prior art apparatus satisfying the claimed structural limitations. Ex Parte Masham, 2 USPQ F.2d 1647 (1987))).
Regarding Claim 16, The non-classical light source device of claim 5, wherein the pn junction having the plurality of light-emitting regions discretely distributed there along is a pn junction formed by irradiating the semiconductor structure in the presence of a forward current flowing through the semiconductor structure while the semiconductor structure is in thermal contact with a cooling base at a temperature equal to or higher than -20°C and equal to or lower than -5°C (whether a product is patentable depends on whether it is known in the art or it is obvious, and is not governed by whether the process by which it is made is patentable, see MPEP 2113 [R-1])).
Regarding Claim 17, The non-classical light source device of claim 5, wherein the pn junction having the plurality of light-emitting regions discretely distributed therealong is a pn junction formed by irradiating the semiconductor structure in the presence of a forward current flowing through the semiconductor structure while the semiconductor structure is in thermal contact with a cooling base at a temperature equal to or higher than -20°C and equal to or lower than -10°C (whether a product is patentable depends on whether it is known in the art or it is obvious, and is not governed by whether the process by which it is made is patentable, see MPEP 2113 [R-1])).
Regarding Claim 18, The non-classical light source device of claim 5, wherein the pn junction having the plurality of light-emitting regions discretely distributed there along is a pn junction formed by irradiating the semiconductor structure in the presence of a forward current flowing through the semiconductor structure at a current density equal to or greater than 1.0 A/cm2 and equal to or smaller than 400 A/cm2 while the semiconductor structure is in thermal contact with a cooling base at a temperature equal to or higher than -20°C and equal to or lower than -5°C (whether a product is patentable depends on whether it is known in the art or it is obvious, and is not governed by whether the process by which it is made is patentable, see MPEP 2113 [R-1])).
Regarding Claim 19, The non-classical light source device of claim 5, wherein the pn junction having the plurality of light-emitting regions discretely distributed therealong is a pn junction formed by irradiating the semiconductor structure in the presence of a forward current flowing through the semiconductor structure at a current density equal to or greater than 10 A/cm2 and equal to or smaller than 100 A/cm2 while the semiconductor structure is in thermal contact with a cooling base at a temperature equal to or greater than -20°C and equal to or lower than -10°C (whether a product is patentable depends on whether it is known in the art or it is obvious, and is not governed by whether the process by which it is made is patentable, see MPEP 2113 [R-1])).
Regarding Claim 20, The non-classical light source device of claim 5, wherein the pn junction having the plurality of light-emitting regions discretely distributed therealong is a pn junction formed by irradiating the semiconductor structure, in which a concentration of a first impurity in the first semiconductor region is equal to or higher than 1.0x1014 cm-3 and equal to or lower than 1.Ox1020 cm-3 and a concentration of a second impurity in the second semiconductor region is equal to or higher than 1.0x1018 cm-3 and equal to or lower than 1.0x1020cm-3, in the presence of a forward current flowing through the semiconductor structure at a current density equal to or greater than 1.0 A/cm2 and equal to or smaller than 400 A/cm2 while the semiconductor structure is in thermal contact with a cooling base at a temperature equal to or higher than -20°C and equal to or lower than -5°C (whether a product is patentable depends on whether it is known in the art or it is obvious, and is not governed by whether the process by which it is made is patentable, see MPEP 2113 [R-1])).
Claim(s) 10-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ohtsu in view of Nagasawa et al. (US 2022/0013686 A1; hereinafter Nagasawa).
Regarding Claim 10, A single-photon source device, comprising: the non-classical light source device Ohtsu as applied in claim 5; Ohtsu does not particularly disclose a photon reducer adapted to reduce a plurality of photons emitted from the non-classical light source device to a single photon.
Nagasawa (Fig.1-28) discloses in a related art a single-photon source of outputting single photon comprising a photon reducer adapted to reduce a plurality of photons emitted from the non-classical light source device (30) to a single photon (P; Fig.1; [0046]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have a single photon device with photon reducer so as to measure a spatial distribution of a physical amount such as a distribution of an electric field or a magnetic field or a temperature distribution of a device.
Regarding Claim 11, Nagasawa (Fig.1-28) discloses a random number generator, comprising: the single-photon source device according to claim 10; a beam splitter (40) configured to transmit and/or reflect a photon emitted from the single-photon source device so as to travel along at least one of two routes (Fig.1);
a first detector configured to detect a photon traveling along a first of the routes; and a second detector configured to detect a photon traveling along a second of the routes.
Regarding Claim 12, Ohtsu as applied in claim 5 discloses a random number generator, comprising: the non-classical light source device according to claim 5;
Ohtsu does not particularly disclose a beam splitter.
Nagasawa (Fig.1-28) discloses a beam splitter (40) configured to transmit and/or reflect a photon emitted from the non-classical light source device so as to travel along at least one of two routes; a first detector configured to detect a photon traveling along a first of the routes; and a second detector configured to detect a photon traveling along a second of the routes (Fig.1).
Therefore, it would have been obvious in the art before the effective filing of the application to have a beam splitter so as to excite the electrons by the optical energy.
Conclusion
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 HAJAR KOLAHDOUZAN whose telephone number is (571)270-5842.
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.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Leonard Chang can be reached on (571)270-3691. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/HAJAR KOLAHDOUZAN/ Examiner, Art Unit 2898
/Leonard Chang/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2898
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