Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/037,260

VCSEL WITH INTEGRATED GRATING COUPLER

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
May 16, 2023
Examiner
PARK, KINAM
Art Unit
2828
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Shenzhen Raysees AI Technology Co. Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
82%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 6m
To Grant
89%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 82% — above average
82%
Career Allow Rate
680 granted / 829 resolved
+14.0% vs TC avg
Moderate +7% lift
Without
With
+7.3%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 6m
Avg Prosecution
14 currently pending
Career history
843
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.1%
-38.9% vs TC avg
§103
33.8%
-6.2% vs TC avg
§102
40.2%
+0.2% vs TC avg
§112
13.6%
-26.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 829 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
DETAILED ACTION 1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 2. 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. 3. Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by KOCH (US 20110158278). Regarding claim 1, KOCH discloses in figure 2, 4. and specification: A system, comprising: a Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VCSEL) element (see, paragraph [0005]), the VCSEL element including: a first reflector region (see, 400, fig. 4, see also, paragraph [0019]); a second reflector region (see, 406, fig. 4) opposite to the first reflector region; and an active region (see, 404, fig. 4) between the first reflector region and second reflector region; a dielectric waveguide (see, 204, fig. 2, see also, paragraph [0014], silicon waveguide) integrated with the first reflector region; and a dielectric grating coupler (see, 206, fig. 2, see also, paragraph [0014], here, SIO grating coupler 206) formed on the dielectric waveguide for coupling an electromagnetic wave (see, 216, fig. 2) of the VCSEL element into the dielectric waveguide. PNG media_image1.png 176 376 media_image1.png Greyscale PNG media_image2.png 172 324 media_image2.png Greyscale Regarding claim 2, KOCH discloses in figure 2, 4. and specification the system of claim 1, wherein the first reflector region and the second reflector region each comprise a distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) structure (see, paragraph [0019]). Regarding claim 3, KOCH discloses in figure 2, 4. and specification the system of claim 1, wherein the active region includes a quantum- well configuration (see, paragraph [0019]). Regarding claim 4, KOCH discloses in figure 2, 4. and specification the system of claim 1 further comprising a reflector (see, 212, fig. 2), the dielectric grating coupler disposed between the reflector and the first reflector region. Regarding claim 5, KOCH discloses in figure 2, 4. and specification the system of claim 4, wherein the reflector includes a dielectric distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) structure (see, paragraph [0014]). Regarding claim 6, KOCH discloses in figure 2, 4. and specification the system of claim 1, wherein the waveguide includes a dielectric core material and a dielectric cladding material (see, paragraph [0014]). Regarding claim 7, KOCH discloses in figure 2, 4. and specification the system of claim 1, wherein the VCSEL element further includes a substrate (see, 200, fig. 2) the dielectric waveguide formed over a surface of the substrate (see, paragraph [0014]). Regarding claims 8-14, device claims 8-14 are rejected for the reasons applied to device claim 1-7 since the limitations of device claims 8-14 are implemented by the limitations of device claims 1-7. Regarding claims 15-20, method claims 15-20 are rejected for the reasons applied to device claim 8-14 since the limitations of method claims 15-20 are implemented by the limitations of device claims 8-14. Conclusion 4. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Kinam Park whose telephone number is (571) 270-1738. The examiner can normally be reached on from 9:00 AM-5:00 PM. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, MINSUN HARVEY, can be reached on (571) 272-1835. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). /KINAM PARK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2828
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

May 16, 2023
Application Filed
Nov 29, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
82%
Grant Probability
89%
With Interview (+7.3%)
2y 6m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 829 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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