DETAILED ACTION
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 .
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.
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, 6-8, 13 and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over STERN (US PG Pub 2021/0203132 A1) in view of OLDENBEUVING et al. (US PG Pub 2019/0324198 A1) and Tapalian et al. (US PG Pub 2003/0152313 A1).
Regarding claim 1, STERN discloses a tunable laser (100, FIG. 1, [0022]) for generating and outputting wavelength-tuned light using only a single gain chip, comprising:
a reflective semiconductor optical amplifier (RSOA) (105, FIG. 1, [0022]) having a front-end (115, FIG. 1, [0023]) configured as an output port (Laser Output 120 is emitted via 115, FIG. 1, [0023]) for outputting the wavelength-tuned light with an amplified light intensity relative to light received at a back-end of the RSOA (an amplified light reflected by 110 is received at a back-end of 105, FIG. 1, [0023]); and
a wavelength tuner (110, FIG. 1, [0024]) optically coupled to the back-end of the RSOA (110 is optically coupled to 105 via 111, FIG. 1, [0022]), the wavelength tuner comprising a plurality of ring resonators (110 includes a second tunable filter comprising one or more ring resonators 128, FIG. 1, [0025] and see claim 10) having respective Q-factors (128 has a quality-factor Q, [0026]).
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STERN does not explicitly disclose the Q-factors are above 2000 and below 4000.
OLDENBEUVING discloses “those skilled the art will understand that each of the ring resonators R1, R2, and R3 is characterized by a quality factor (i.e., “Q” factor) that may advantageously be controlled or otherwise influenced by its respective heater(s) or portions. By choosing an appropriate combination of coupling coefficients K1 through K6, the overall reflectance and transmittance of resonant mirror structure 310 may be selectively controlled.” ([0049])
Tapalian discloses ring resonators typically have Q-factors of 103 to 105 in the 1550 nm wavelength region ([0007]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the plurality of ring resonators of STERN with Q-factors above 2000 and below 4000 in order to optimize wavelength selectivity in the 1550 wavelength region, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233 MPEP 2144.05 (II-A)
Regarding claim 6, STERN discloses the wavelength tuner further comprising a reflector (116, FIG. 1, [0023]) optically coupled to the plurality of ring resonators, the reflector configured to receive light from the plurality of ring resonators and reflect a substantial portion of the received light back to the plurality or ring resonators.
Regarding claim 7, STERN discloses the wavelength tuner is formed on a semiconductor substrate ([0022]); and the RSOA is housed on a chip that is mounted to the semiconductor substrate (FIG. 1).
Regarding claim 8, STERN discloses a method of operation of a single gain chip tunable laser (100, FIG. 1, [0022]), the method comprising:
generating, by a reflective semiconductor optical amplifier (RSOA) (105, FIG. 1, [0022]), light (120, FIG. 1, [0023]);
passing the light generated by the RSOA to a wavelength tuner (110, FIG. 1, [0024]) via a back-end of the RSOA (light from 105 is transmitted to 110 via a back-end of 105 using a waveguide 125, FIG. 1, [0024]);
inducing respective frequency shifts in the light by a plurality of ring resonators of the wavelength tuner (110 includes a second tunable filter comprising one or more ring resonators 128, FIG. 1, [0025] and see claim 10), each ring resonator having a respective quality factor (Q-factor) (128 has a quality-factor Q, [0026]);
generating, with the wavelength tuner, wavelength-tuned light having a peak at a particular frequency corresponding to a difference between resonant frequency shifts caused by the plurality of ring resonators ([0026]);
passing the wavelength-tuned light back to the RSOA via the back-end of the RSOA (an amplified light reflected by 110 is received at the back-end of 105, FIG. 1, [0023]); and
outputting the wavelength-tuned light from the RSOA via a front-end of the RSOA (120 is emitted via a front-end of 105, FIG. 1).
STERN does not explicitly disclose the Q-factors are above 2000 and below 4000.
OLDENBEUVING discloses “those skilled the art will understand that each of the ring resonators R1, R2, and R3 is characterized by a quality factor (i.e., “Q” factor) that may advantageously be controlled or otherwise influenced by its respective heater(s) or portions. By choosing an appropriate combination of coupling coefficients K1 through K6, the overall reflectance and transmittance of resonant mirror structure 310 may be selectively controlled.” ([0049])
Tapalian discloses ring resonators typically have Q-factors of 103 to 105 in the 1550 nm wavelength region ([0007]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the plurality of ring resonators of STERN with Q-factors above 2000 and below 4000 in order to optimize wavelength selectivity in the 1550 wavelength region, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233 MPEP 2144.05 (II-A)
Regarding claims 13 and 19, same rejections as applied to claims 1 and 6 are maintained since the method claims 13 and 19 contain substantially the same limitations as the product claims 1 and 6.
Regarding claim 20, STERN discloses mounting the single gain chip on the semiconductor substrate comprises: flip-mounting the single gain chip to the semiconductor substrate ([0041]).
Claims 2-5, 9-12 and 14-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over STERN, OLDENBEUVING et al. and Tapalian et al. as applied to claims 1, 8 and 13 above, and further in view of YAMAZAKI (US PG Pub 2009/0285251 A1, 01/16/23 IDS).
Regarding claims 2, 9 and 14, the combination has disclosed the tunable laser, the method of operation of the single gain chip tunable laser and the method of manufacturing a tunable laser outlined in the rejections to claims 1, 8 and 13 above.
The combination does not explicitly disclose the wavelength tuner further comprises: a plurality of waveguides optically coupled to the plurality of ring resonators via optical couplings that are configured to provide the ring resonators with respective Q-factors above 2000 and below 4000; passing light between the RSOA and the plurality of ring resonators, and between ring resonators among the plurality of ring resonators, via a plurality of waveguides; and optically coupling the plurality of resonators to the plurality of waveguides via optical couplings that are configured to provide the plurality of ring resonators with respective Q-factors above 2000 and below 4000; or fabricating the wavelength tuner on the semiconductor substrate comprises: fabricating a plurality of waveguides on the semiconductor substrate that are optically coupled to the plurality of ring resonators via optical couplings that are configured to provide the ring resonators with respective Q-factors above 2000 and below 4000.
YAMAZAKI discloses a wavelength tuner (FIG. 1) comprising a plurality of waveguides (13-16, FIG. 1, [0024]-[0025]) optically coupled to the plurality of ring resonators (21-23, FIG. 1, [0024]-[0025]) via optical couplings (41-46, FIG. 1, [0024]-[0025]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the wavelength tuner of the combination with the plurality of waveguides optically coupled to the plurality of ring resonators via the optical couplings as taught by YAMAZAKI in order to prevent the property of an optical filter from being changed even if there is a change in a gap of directional couplers generated due to variations in manufacturing conditions so as to improve the yield (see abstract of YAMAZAKI).
Regarding claim 3, the combination, as modified, discloses a first waveguide (13, FIG. 1 of YAMAZAKI), among the plurality of waveguides, is optically coupled to the back-end of the RSOA (13 is optically coupled to a back-end of 12, FIG. 1) and is optically coupled to a first ring resonator (21, FIG. 1 of YAMAZAKI), among the plurality of ring resonators, via a first optical coupling (41, FIG. 1 of YAMAZAKI); a second waveguide (14, FIG. 1 of YAMAZAKI), among the plurality of waveguides, is optically coupled to the first ring resonator via a second optical coupling (42, FIG. 1 of YAMAZAKI), and is optically coupled to a second ring resonator (22, FIG. 1 of YAMAZAKI), among the plurality of ring resonators, via a third optical coupling (43, FIG. 1 of YAMAZAKI); the first optical coupling comprises a first section of the first waveguide that is disposed proximate to a first section of the first ring resonator at a first gap width W for a first length L (it’s implicitly taught by FIG. 1 of YAMAZAKI); the second optical coupling comprises a first section of the second waveguide that is disposed proximate to a second section of the first ring resonator at a second gap width W for a second length L (it’s implicitly taught by FIG. 1 of YAMAZAKI); and the first gap width W, the first length L, the second gap width W, and the second length L are configured to provide the first ring resonator with a first Q-factor above 2000 and below 4000.
Regarding claim 4, the combination, as modified, discloses the wavelength tuner further comprising a third waveguide (15, FIG. 1 of YAMAZAKI) optically coupled to the second ring resonator via a fourth optical coupling (44, FIG. 1 of YAMAZAKI); the third optical coupling comprises a second section of the second waveguide that is disposed proximate to a first section of the second ring resonator at a third gap width W for a third length L (it’s implicitly taught by FIG. 1 of YAMAZAKI); the fourth optical coupling comprises a first section of the third waveguide that is disposed proximate to a second section of the second ring resonator at a fourth gap width W for a fourth length L (it’s implicitly taught by FIG. 1 of YAMAZAKI); and the third gap width W, the third length L, the fourth gap width W, and the fourth length L are configured to provide the second ring resonator with a first Q-factor above 2000 and below 4000 (it’s implicitly taught by FIG. 1 of YAMAZAKI).
Regarding claims 5 and 18, the combination has disclosed the tunable laser and the method of manufacturing a tunable laser outlined in the rejections to claims 1 and 13 above.
The combination does not explicitly disclose the wavelength tuner comprises: a first ring resonator that is configured to cause a first phase shift in light traveling through the first ring resonator; and a second ring resonator that is configured to cause a second phase shift in light traveling through the second ring resonator, the second phase shift being different than the first phase shift; wherein the wavelength tuner is configured to generate a light interference spectrum with a peak at a wavelength that depends on a difference between the first phase shift and the second phase shift; or fabricating the wavelength tuner on the semiconductor substrate comprises: fabricating, on the semiconductor substrate, a first ring resonator that is configured to cause a first phase shift in light traveling through the first ring resonator; fabricating, on the semiconductor substrate, a second ring resonator that is configured to cause a second phase shift in light traveling through the second ring resonator, the second phase shift being different than the first phase shift; and fabricating the wavelength tuner so that the wavelength tuner is configured to generate a light interference spectrum with a peak at a wavelength that depends on a difference between the first phase shift and the second phase shift.
YAMAZAKI discloses the wavelength tuner comprises: a first ring resonator (21, FIG. 1, [0024]-[0025]) that is configured to cause a first phase shift (via 31, FIG. 1, [0024]) in light traveling through the first ring resonator; and a second ring resonator (22, FIG. 1, [0024]-[0025]) that is configured to cause a second phase shift (via 32, FIG. 1, [0024]) in light traveling through the second ring resonator, the second phase shift being different than the first phase shift; wherein the wavelength tuner is configured to generate a light interference spectrum with a peak at a wavelength that depends on a difference between the first phase shift and the second phase shift ([0029]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the wavelength tuner of the combination with the first ring resonator and the second ring resonator as taught by YAMAZAKI in order to control the property of the frequencies in a wider range than that of a single resonator ([0029] of YAMAZAKI).
Regarding claim 10, the combination, as modified, discloses passing light between the RSOA and the plurality of ring resonators, and between ring resonators among the plurality of ring resonators (FIG. 1 of YAMAZAKI), comprises: passing light from the back-end of the RSOA to a first ring resonator (21, FIG. 1 of YAMAZAKI), among the plurality of ring resonators, via a first waveguide (13, FIG. 1 of YAMAZAKI) among the plurality of waveguides; and passing light from the first ring resonator to a second ring resonator (22, FIG. 1 of YAMAZAKI), among the plurality of ring resonators, via a second waveguide (14, FIG. 1 of YAMAZAKI) among the plurality of waveguides.
Regarding claim 11, the combination, as modified, discloses passing light between ring resonators (21-23, FIG. 1 of YAMAZAKI) among the plurality of ring resonators comprises: optically coupling the first waveguide to the first ring resonator via a first optical coupling (41, FIG. 1 of YAMAZAKI) that is configured to provide the first ring resonator with a first Q-factor above 2000 and below 4000; optically coupling the second waveguide to the first ring resonator via a second optical coupling (42, FIG. 1 of YAMAZAKI) that is configured to provide the first ring resonator with a first Q-factor above 2000 and below 4000; and optically coupling the second waveguide to the second ring resonator via a third optical coupling (43, FIG. 1 of YAMAZAKI) that is configured to provide the second ring resonator with a first Q-factor above 2000 and below 4000.
Regarding claim 12, the combination, as modified, discloses passing light from the second ring resonator to a reflector (24, FIG. 1 of YAMAZAKI) via a third waveguide (15, FIG. 1 of YAMAZAKI); and optically coupling the third waveguide to the second ring resonator via a fourth optical coupling (44, FIG. 1 of YAMAZAKI) that is configured to provide the second ring resonator with a first Q-factor above 2000 and below 4000.
Regarding claim 15, the combination, as modified, discloses fabricating the wavelength tuner on the semiconductor substrate further comprises: fabricating a first waveguide (13, FIG. 1 of YAMAZAKI), among the plurality of waveguides, on the semiconductor substrate, including fabricating the first waveguide to be optically coupled to the back-end of the RSOA when the gain chip is mounted to the semiconductor substrate (FIG. 1 of YAMAZAKI), and so that the first waveguide is optically coupled to a first ring resonator (21, FIG. 1 of YAMAZAKI), among the plurality of ring resonators, via a first optical coupling (41, FIG. 1 of YAMAZAKI); and fabricating a second waveguide (14, FIG. 1 of YAMAZAKI), among the plurality of waveguides, on the semiconductor substrate, so that the second waveguide is optically coupled to the first ring resonator via a second optical coupling (42, FIG. 1 of YAMAZAKI), and is optically coupled to a second ring resonator (22, FIG. 1 of YAMAZAKI), among the plurality of ring resonators, via a third optical coupling (43, FIG. 1 of YAMAZAKI).
Regarding claim 16, the combination, as modified, discloses fabricating the wavelength tuner on the semiconductor substrate further comprises: fabricating the first waveguide and the first resonator on the semiconductor substrate so that the first optical coupling comprises a first section of the first waveguide that is disposed proximate to a first section of the first ring resonator at a first gap width W for a first length L (it’s implicitly taught by FIG. 1 of YAMAZAKI); fabricating the second waveguide and the first resonator on the semiconductor substrate so that the second optical coupling comprises a first section of the second waveguide that is disposed proximate to a second section of the first ring resonator at a second gap width W for a second length L (it’s implicitly taught by FIG. 1 of YAMAZAKI); and fabricating the first waveguide, the second waveguide, and the first resonator on the semiconductor substrate so that the first gap width W, the first length L, the second gap width W, and the second length L are configured to provide the first ring resonator with a first Q-factor above 2000 and below 4000 (it’s implicitly taught by FIG. 1 of YAMAZAKI).
Regarding claim 17, the combination, as modified, discloses fabricating the wavelength tuner on the semiconductor substrate further comprises: fabricating the second waveguide and the third optical coupling so that a second section of the second waveguide is disposed proximate to a first section of the second ring resonator at a third gap width W for a third length L (it’s implicitly taught by FIG. 1 of YAMAZAKI); fabricating a third waveguide (15, FIG. 1 of YAMAZAKI) on the semiconductor substrate so that the third waveguide is optically coupled to the second ring resonator via a fourth optical coupling (44, FIG. 1 of YAMAZAKI); fabricating the third waveguide and the second ring resonator so that the fourth optical coupling comprises a first section of the third waveguide that is disposed proximate to a second section of the second ring resonator at a fourth gap width W for a fourth length L (it’s implicitly taught by FIG. 1 of YAMAZAKI); and wherein the third gap width W, the third length L, the fourth gap width W, and the fourth length L are configured to provide the second ring resonator with a second Q-factor above 2000 and below 4000 (it’s implicitly taught by FIG. 1 of YAMAZAKI).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
TAKEUCHI et al. (US PG Pub 2008/0056311 A1) discloses a tunable laser similar to the claimed invention (see FIG. 1).Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to YUANDA ZHANG whose telephone number is (571)270-1439. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10:30 AM - 6:30 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, MINSUN HARVEY can be reached at (571)272-1835. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/YUANDA ZHANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2828