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 .
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.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of Invention I and corresponding claims 16 – 19 and 28 – 35 in the reply filed on January 09, 2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that the MPEP § 803 states that "[i]f the search and examination of all the claims in an application can be made without serious burden, the examiner must examine them on the merits, even though they include claims to independent or distinct inventions". Each of independent claims 16, 20, and 28 are related to cryogenic optical devices having diamond-based chips. Although the independent claims are respectively directed to an optical device, a method for operating a laser beam with reduced frequency linewidth, and optical device comprising a cryogenic cooler and a diamond-based chip thermally conductively coupling to the cryogenic cooler any in-depth search for art related to cryogenic optical devices having diamond-based chips is likely to uncover both optical devices and methods for operating such devices.
This is not found persuasive because as searching and examining all the claims of an application can place a considerable burden on the examiner, for example because they have acquired an independent status in the art due to their different classifications and/or moreover, inventions require different search fields (e.g., searching in different classes/subclasses or electronic resources, or employing different search queries).
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Drawings
Figure 1 should be designated by a legend such as --Prior Art-- because only that which is old is illustrated. See MPEP § 608.02(g). Corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. The replacement sheet(s) should be labeled “Replacement Sheet” in the page header (as per 37 CFR 1.84(c)) so as not to obstruct any portion of the drawing figures. If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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 16 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over P. Lataweic (“On chip diamond Raman laser”) in view of Farmer (US 5,742,384),further in view of Applicant admitted prior art, herein referred to as AAPA (the Applicant disclosure is an equivalent of PGPUB 2024/0055826, see Figure 1 and paragraphs [0021 and 0029 – 0037] of the of PGPUB 20240055826 as the AAPA and there is no indication that this is from the same inventor).
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Regarding claim 16, Lataweic disclose an optical device comprising:
a diamond dual-resonator (see Figure 1c) configuration formed by dry etching of CVD diamond crystals (see Figures 1a – 1d, Abstract, page 924, 1. Introduction, left column first and second full paragraphs, page 925, 2. Device Desing and Fabrication, left and right columns, first and second full paragraphs).
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Lataweic discloses the claimed invention except for a cryogenic cooler configured to have an operating temperature in a range of 40 to 100° K. Farmer teaches a cryogenic cooler (see Figures 2 and 4, character 46) configured to have an operating temperature in a range of ~90K and a laser (see Figures 1 and 2, character 24). However, it is well known in the art to apply and/or modify the cryogenic cooler configured to have an operating temperature in a range of ~90K as discloses by Farmer in (see Figures 2 and 4, column 2, lines 26 – 28, column 4 lines 1 – 4, and 48 – 57 and claim 2 ). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was to apply and/or modify the cryogenic cooler configured to have an operating temperature in a range of 77K as suggested to the device of Lataweic, to suppress of the influence of mechanical vibrations, the frequency stability of the reference optical resonator (spacer) is limited only by dimensional changes due to thermal vibrations of the substrates of mirrors and their coatings. The cooling of the cavity itself will reduce the thermal noise, since it decreases as the square root of the temperature.
Lataweic discloses the claimed invention except for a laser which is controllable to emit light. AAPA teaches a laser (see Figure 1, Character 12, the reference called “ultra-stable laser”) and servo electronic circuit (see Figure 1, character 18). However, it is well known in the art to apply and/or modify the a laser which is controllable to emit light as discloses by AAPA in (see Figure 1 and paragraphs [0034 and 0036]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was to apply and/or modify the a laser which is controllable to emit light as suggested to the device of Lataweic, the laser could be used because they offer high precision and efficiency; for example, their focused beams allow for precise cutting, engraving, and marking of materials. This precision is crucial in applications such as surgery, manufacturing, and telecommunications. Lasers can operate at high speeds, significantly reducing processing time compared to traditional methods. This efficiency can lead to savings in production and operational processes. The servo electronic circuit could be used to stabilize the laser in terms of frequency and phase noise reduction based at least in part on the electrical signal representing the error received from the photoreceiver.
Lataweic, Farmer and AAPA do not explicitly discloses the diamond dual resonator thermally coupled to the cryogenic cooler, and optically coupled to receive light from the laser when the laser is activated. However, it was shown above that Lataweic on Figure 1,Abstract, page 924, 1. Introduction, left column first and second full paragraphs, page 925, 2. Device Desing and Fabrication, left and right columns, first and second full paragraphs teach a diamond dual resonator formed by CVD diamond crystal. Farmer teaches a cryogenic cooler (see Figures 2 and 4, character 46) and AAPA a laser (see Figure 1, Character 12, the reference called “ultra-stable laser”) and servo electronic circuit (see Figure 1, character 18). The combination of Lataweic's dual diamond resonator, Farmer's cryogenic cooler, and AAPA's laser and servo circuitry achieves a dual diamond resonator that is thermally coupled to the cryogenic cooler and optically coupled to receive the laser light. These features are implicitly taught the diamond dual resonator thermally coupled to the cryogenic cooler, and optically coupled to receive light from the laser when the laser is activated as is claimed.
Regarding claim 17, Lataweic, Farmer and AAPA, Lataweic disclose the diamond dual-resonator configuration comprises: a pump waveguide (see Figure 1c and page 925, 2. Device Desing and Fabrication, left and right columns, first full paragraphs) optically coupled to the laser and having a pump wavelength (see Figure 1c);
a first closed circulating loop (see Figure 1c, Abstract and page 925, 1. Introduction, left column first full paragraph and 2. Device Desing and Fabrication, left and right columns, first and second full paragraphs and page 927, 4. Conclusion) optically coupled to the pump waveguide;
a second closed circulating loop (see Figure 1c, Abstract and page 925, 1. Introduction, left column first full paragraph and 2. Device Desing and Fabrication, left and right columns, first and second full paragraphs and page 927, 4. Conclusion) optically coupled to the first closed circulating loop (see Figure 1c); and
an output waveguide (see Figure 1c, Abstract and page 925, 1. Introduction, left column first full paragraph and 2. Device Desing and Fabrication, left and right columns, first and second full paragraphs and page 927, 4. Conclusion) optically coupled to the second closed circulating loop (see Figure 1c).
Claims 28 and 29 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over P. Lataweic (“On chip diamond Raman laser”) in view of Farmer (US 5,742,384).
Regarding claim 28, Lataweic disclose a diamond-based chip (see Figures 1a – 1d, Abstract, page 924, 1. Introduction, left column first and second full paragraphs, page 925, 2. Device Desing and Fabrication, left and right columns, first and second full paragraphs), wherein the diamond-based chip (see Figures 1c and 1d) comprises:
a first waveguide (see Figures 1c and 1d, Abstract and page 925, 1. Introduction, left column first full paragraph and 2. Device Desing and Fabrication, left and right columns, first and second full paragraphs and page 927, 4. Conclusion);
a first closed circulating loop (see Figures 1c and 1d, Abstract and page 925, 1. Introduction, left column first full paragraph and 2. Device Desing and Fabrication, left and right columns, first and second full paragraphs and page 927, 4. Conclusion) optically coupled to the first waveguide (see Figures 1c and 1d);
a second closed circulating loop (see Figures 1c and 1d and 1d, Abstract and page 925, 1. Introduction, left column first full paragraph and 2. Device Desing and Fabrication, left and right columns, first and second full paragraphs and page 927, 4. Conclusion) optically coupled to the first closed circulating loop (see Figures 1c and 1d); and
a second waveguide (see Figures 1c and 1d, Abstract and page 925, 1. Introduction, left column first full paragraph and 2. Device Desing and Fabrication, left and right columns, first and second full paragraphs and page 927, 4. Conclusion) optically coupled to the second closed circulating loop (see Figures 1c and 1d).
Lataweic discloses the claimed invention except for a cryogenic cooler. Farmer teaches a cryogenic cooler (see Figures 2 and 4, character 46) and a laser (see Figures 1 and 2, character 24). However, it is well known in the art to apply and/or modify the cryogenic cooler as discloses by Farmer in (see Figures 2 and 4, column 2, lines 26 – 28, column 4 lines 1 – 4, and 48 – 57 and claim 2 ). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was to apply and/or modify the cryogenic cooler as suggested to the device of Lataweic; to suppress of the influence of mechanical vibrations, the frequency stability of the reference optical resonator (spacer) is limited only by dimensional changes due to thermal vibrations of the substrates of mirrors and their coatings. The cooling of the cavity itself will reduce the thermal noise, since it decreases as the square root of the temperature.
Regarding claim 29, Lataweic, and Farmer, Farmer discloses the cryogenic cooler (see Figures 2 and 4, character 46) comprises a cold finger (see Figures 2 and 4, character 45) which is thermally conductively coupled to liquid nitrogen (see column 15, lines 18 – 21).
Lataweic and Farmer do not explicitly discloses the diamond-based chip is thermally conductively coupled to the cold finger. However, it was shown above that Lataweic on Figure 1, Abstract, page 924, 1. Introduction, left column first and second full paragraphs, page 925, 2. Device Desing and Fabrication, left and right columns, first and second full paragraphs teach a diamond dual resonator formed by CVD diamond crystal. Farmer teaches a cryogenic cooler (see Figures 2 and 4, character 46) and cold finger (see Figures 2 and 4, character 45). The combination of Lataweic's dual diamond resonator and Farmer's cryogenic cooler and cold finger achieves a dual diamond resonator that is thermally coupled to the cold finger. These features are implicitly taught the diamond-based chip is thermally conductively coupled to the cold finger as is claimed.
Claims 30 – 31 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over P. Lataweic (“On chip diamond Raman laser”) in view Farmer (US 5,742,384), further in view of Applicant admitted prior art, herein referred to as AAPA (the Applicant disclosure is an equivalent of PGPUB 2024/0055826, see Figure 1 and paragraphs [0021 and 0029 – 0037] of the of PGPUB 20240055826 as the AAPA and there is no indication that this is from the same inventor).
Regarding claim 30, Lataweic and Farmer, discloses the claimed invention except for a pump laser which is controllable to emit light having a specified frequency and a specified optical power, wherein the diamond-based chip is optically coupled to receive light from the pump laser when the pump laser is activated and configured to output an optical signal representing an error. AAPA teaches a laser (see Figure 1, Character 12, the reference called “ultra-stable laser”) and servo electronic circuit (see Figure 1, character 18). However, it is well known in the art to apply and/or modify the a laser which is controllable to emit light as discloses by AAPA in (see Figure 1 and paragraphs [0034 and 0036]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was to apply and/or modify the a laser which is controllable to emit light as suggested to the device of Lataweic and Farmer, the laser could be used because they offer high precision and efficiency; for example, their focused beams allow for precise cutting, engraving, and marking of materials. This precision is crucial in applications such as surgery, manufacturing, and telecommunications. Lasers can operate at high speeds, significantly reducing processing time compared to traditional methods. This efficiency can lead to savings in production and operational processes. The servo electronic circuit could be used to stabilize the laser in terms of frequency and phase noise reduction based at least in part on the electrical signal representing the error received from the photoreceiver.
Regarding claim 31, Lataweic and Farmer, discloses the claimed invention except for a photoreceiver which is optically coupled to receive the optical signal representing the error from the diamond-based chip when the pump laser is activated and configured to output an electrical signal representing the error; and an electronic servo controller configured to stabilize the pump laser in terms of frequency and phase noise reduction based, at least in part, on the electrical signal representing the error received from the photoreceiver. AAPA teaches an ultra-stable laser (see Figure 1, Character 12, the reference called “ultra-stable laser”), photoreceiver (see Figure 1, Character 16, the reference called “detector” and paragraphs [0035 - 0036]) and servo electronic circuit (see Figure 1, character 18). However, it is well known in the art to apply and/or modify the a laser which is controllable to emit light as discloses by AAPA in (see Figure 1 and paragraphs [0034 and 0036]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was to apply and/or modify the a laser which is controllable to emit light as suggested to the device of Lataweic and Farmer, the photoreceiver could be used to the absorption of the laser light by the atomic reference is measured by the detector. The measurement result is output in the form of an electrical signal. The light power transmitted through the atomic vapor cell changes when the laser modulation frequency coincides with the atomic oscillation frequency. By monitoring this transmitted power with a photodetector, the frequency of the laser modulation can be corrected to correspond to the atomic resonance frequency. The servo electronic circuit could be used to stabilize the laser in terms of frequency and phase noise reduction based at least in part on the electrical signal representing the error received from the photoreceiver.
Claim 32 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over P. Lataweic (“On chip diamond Raman laser”) in view of Farmer (US 5,742,384), further in view of Applicant admitted prior art, herein referred to as AAPA (the Applicant disclosure is an equivalent of PGPUB 2024/0055826, see Figure 1 and paragraphs [0021 and 0029 – 0037] of the of PGPUB 20240055826 as the AAPA and there is no indication that this is from the same inventor), further in view of Kuvshinskii et al. (“Tests of Cryogenic Fabry–Perot Cavity with Mirrors on Different Substrates”).
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Regarding claim 32, Lataweic, Farmer and AAPA, discloses the claimed invention except for a beam splitter disposed along an optical path of the light emitted by the pump laser and received by the diamond-based chip. Kuvshinskii teaches a beam splitter (see Figure 2, Character PBS). However, it is well known in the art to apply the beam splitter as discloses by Kuvshinskii in (see Figure 2). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was to apply the well-known beam splitter as suggested by Kuvshinskii to the device of Lataweic, Farmer and AAPA, in order to split a laser beam into two or more beams.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 18, 19, 33, 34 and 35 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. Claim 18 recites an optical device structure including the specific structure limitation of the first closed circulating loop is a Raman gain ring having a first length such that the Raman gain ring is resonant to both the pump wavelength and a Stokes wavelength, and wherein the second closed circulating loop is a Stokes resonator ring having a second length such that the Stokes resonator ring is resonant to the Stokes wavelength and anti-resonant to the pump wavelength, which is neither anticipated or neither disclosed nor suggested in any piece of available prior art, which is neither anticipated nor obvious over the prior art of record.
Claim 19 recites an optical device structure including the specific structure limitation of the first closed circulating loop is a rare earth-doped gain ring having a length such that the rare earth-doped gain ring is resonant to the pump wavelength and having a first free spectral range (FSR) with multiple longitudinal modes in a gain spectrum; the second closed circulating loop is a filter resonator ring designed with a second FSR different than the first FSR; and the first and second FSRs are selected so that only a single longitudinal mode is optically coupled from the rare earth-doped gain ring into the filter resonator ring which is neither anticipated or neither disclosed nor suggested in any piece of available prior art, which is neither anticipated nor obvious over the prior art of record.
Claim 33 recites an optical device structure including the specific structure limitation of the diamond crystals of the diamond chip are doped with laser-active rare earth ions to form an absorption spectrum having a pattern of spectral holes, which is neither anticipated or neither disclosed nor suggested in any piece of available prior art, which is neither anticipated nor obvious over the prior art of record.
Claim 34 recites an optical device structure including the specific structure limitation of wherein the first closed circulating loop is a Raman gain ring having a first length such that the Raman gain ring is resonant to both the pump wavelength and a Stokes wavelength, and wherein the second closed circulating loop is a Stokes resonator ring having a second length such that the Stokes resonator ring is resonant to the Stokes wavelength and anti-resonant to the pump wavelength, which is neither anticipated or neither disclosed nor suggested in any piece of available prior art, which is neither anticipated nor obvious over the prior art of record.
Claim 35 recites an optical device structure including the specific structure limitation of the first closed circulating loop is a rare earth-doped gain ring having a length such that the rare earth-doped gain ring is resonant to the pump wavelength and having a first free spectral range (FSR) with multiple longitudinal modes in a gain spectrum; the second closed circulating loop is a filter resonator ring designed with a second FSR different than the first FSR; and the first and second FSRs are selected so that only a single longitudinal mode is optically coupled from the rare earth-doped gain ring into the filter resonator ring, which is neither anticipated or neither disclosed nor suggested in any piece of available prior art, which is neither anticipated nor obvious over the prior art of record.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The references “Optical fiber taper coupling and high-resolution wavelength tuning of microdisk resonators at cryogenic temperatures” disclose a system for studying microcavity resonators at cryogenic temperatures through evanescent coupling via optical fiber taper waveguides is reported, and efficient fiber coupling to AlGaAs microdisk cavities with embedded quantum dots is demonstrated.
“A tunable laser using double-ring resonator external cavity via free-carrier dispersion effect” disclose a tunable laser based on double-ring external resonant cavity is designed, fabricated and tested. The double-ring resonator external cavity consists of a silicon waveguide ring resonator, a p-i-n doped silicon ring resonator, and a superluminescent diode (SLED). The laser is fabricated on a SOI wafer and the wavelength is tuned by injecting electrical currents to p-i-n structures. In the experiment, it measures 45.8 nm wavelength tuning with 110 GHz channel spacing and the average output power is approximately -8 dBm. It advances in high tuning speed, large side mode suppression ratio, and low manufacture cost, such has potential applications in high speed WDM networks.
“Improvement in quality factor of double microring resonator for sensing applications” disclose a simulation and analysis of a ring resonator-based sensor are presented. The ring resonator structure has two bus waveguides and two rings with a gap between the ring and the ring and bus waveguide. The radius of each ring is designed to be 3.1 μm. The ring resonator is designed such that both rings exhibit resonance at 1550 nm, and it is analyzed at mid-infrared wavelengths between 1500 and 1600 nm. The guided signal is launched through the bus wave guide to determine spectral properties, such as free spectral range and quality (Q-) factor. An improved Q-factor is observed in the simulation results for the optimized design.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Delma R. Forde whose telephone number is (571)272-1940. The examiner can normally be reached M - TH 7:00 AM - 4:00 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, MinSun O 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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/Delma R Forde/Examiner, Art Unit 2828
/TOD T VAN ROY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2828