NON-FINAL REJECTION
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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of Group II, claim 21, in the reply filed on October 30, 2025 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that there would be no undue burden on the Examiner to examine both groups, because claim 21 recites substantially all of the elements of claim 1. This is not found persuasive. As a method claim, the words of claim 21 carry more weight than in claim 1. There are also additional method limitations in claim 21 not present (and wouldn’t have as much weight) in claim 1. In further amendments, more method limitations or claims could be added as depending upon claim 21 further focusing on method steps, and at such a later time, restriction would not be as appropriate.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
The examiner invites and encourages applicant to amend claim 21 similarly to changes made to claim 1 (if applicable), if desired, to allow for a rejoinder of claim 21, when appropriate.
Claim 21 is withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on October 30, 2025.
Specification - Abstract
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because of a typographical error in line 8, where the word “slaps” is used instead of “slabs”. A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
Drawings
The drawings were received on May 22, 2023. These drawings are acceptable.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
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) 1, 2, 6, 15, 16 and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Caplan et al. (US Patent 10,075,245, hereinafter referred to as “Caplan”). Caplan anticipates claims:
1 and 15. An apparatus (receiver 100 is interpreted as the apparatus, see figure 1), comprising:
a substrate (referenced as substrate, see column 8, lines 40-48); and
a layer of silicon (see column 9, lines 21-26, the components formed of silicon are interpreted as a layer of silicon) disposed above the substrate comprising an optical modulation system that comprises a bus waveguide (input waveguide 110 is interpreted as the bus waveguide) configured to propagate an optical carrier (see column 6, lines 4-16; also multiple carriers, as required in claim 15) and a ring modulator (120a-h, multiple for claim 15) configured to modulate the optical carrier;
wherein the ring modulator comprises a rib ring waveguide adjacent to the bus waveguide (see figures 1 and 2, the ring modulator is interpreted as a rib ring waveguide); and
wherein a center radius of the rib ring waveguide is less than 5 micrometers (column 8, lines 58-61).
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a width of the rib ring waveguide is greater than a minimum width of a straight waveguide rib for a resonant wavelength of the rib ring waveguide (see figure 1; since the light reaches and propagates in the ring resonators, this limitation is met).
6 and 18. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the bus waveguide comprises a rib bus waveguide (see figures 1 and 2, the bus waveguide is interpreted as a rib bus waveguide), and wherein a width of the rib ring waveguide is greater than a width of the rib bus waveguide (see figures 1 and 2, the diameter of the rib ring waveguide is interpreted as the width and is greater than a width of the rib bus waveguide).
16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the optical modulation system has a free spectral range of 3.2 tera Hertz, a channel spacing of 200 GHz, and a bandwidth of at least 40 GHz. This limitation is a performance and function of the claimed structures. The patentability of an apparatus depends only on the claimed structural limitations. Caplan teaches a structure that is substantially identical to that of the claimed invention, therefore the claimed properties or functions are presumed to be inherent. The burden is on the applicant to show that the Caplan device does not possess and is not capable of these functional characteristics. See MPEP 2112.01.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 3, 7-9, 12-14 and 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Caplan.
With respect to claims 3, 7-9, 12-14 and 17, Caplan discloses the limitations of claims 1 and 15 as previously stated.
Caplan is silent to wherein a width of the rib ring waveguide is within a range of 450 nanometers to 550 nanometers; wherein: the width of the rib ring waveguide is within a range of 450 nanometers to 550 nanometers; and the width of the rib bus waveguide is within a range of 350 nanometers to 400 nanometers; greater than a width of the rib bus waveguide; wherein: a first region of the ring waveguide is P-doped and a second region of the ring waveguide is N-doped to provide a PN junction that is perpendicular to a plane of the rib ring waveguide; wherein: a first region of the ring waveguide is P-doped and a second region of the ring waveguide is N-doped to provide a PN junction that is parallel with a plane of the rib ring waveguide; wherein the layer of silicon further comprises: a first doped region within an inner radius of the rib ring waveguide; and a second doped region beyond an outer radius of the rib ring waveguide; wherein the first doped region is doped with one of P-type doping and N-type doping and the second doped region is doped with the other one of P-type doping and N-type doping; and wherein the second doped region includes a slab at an optical gap slab between the rib bus waveguide and the rib ring waveguide and at least a first portion of the rib bus waveguide that is adjacent to the optical gap slab; wherein the layer of silicon further comprises: first and second undoped regions that include respective second and third portions of the rib bus waveguide on either side of the first portion of the rib bus waveguide; a heater element proximate to the ring modulator: wherein an upper surface of the substrate has an opening to a cavity therein; and wherein a perimeters of the opening and the cavity encompass regions of the optical modulation system that include the heater element and the ring modulator; wherein widths of the rib ring waveguides are within a range of 450 nanometers to 550 nanometers greater than a minimum width of a single mode straight/linear waveguide for single mode operation.
The examiner takes official notice that PN junctions in any orientation, undoped regions, P- and N-type doping, slabs, ribs, heaters with proximate to the ring modulator: wherein an upper surface of the substrate has an opening to a cavity therein; and wherein a perimeters of the opening and the cavity encompass regions of the optical modulation system that include the heater element and the ring modulator are all well-known structures used in conjunction with ring modulator systems and beneficially allow for optical waveguiding and modulation and tuning functions. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to form the device of Caplan, such that wherein a width of the rib ring waveguide is within a range of 450 nanometers to 550 nanometers; wherein: the width of the rib ring waveguide is within a range of 450 nanometers to 550 nanometers; and the width of the rib bus waveguide is within a range of 350 nanometers to 400 nanometers; greater than a width of the rib bus waveguide; wherein: a first region of the ring waveguide is P-doped and a second region of the ring waveguide is N-doped to provide a PN junction that is perpendicular to a plane of the rib ring waveguide; wherein: a first region of the ring waveguide is P-doped and a second region of the ring waveguide is N-doped to provide a PN junction that is parallel with a plane of the rib ring waveguide; wherein the layer of silicon further comprises: a first doped region within an inner radius of the rib ring waveguide; and a second doped region beyond an outer radius of the rib ring waveguide; wherein the first doped region is doped with one of P-type doping and N-type doping and the second doped region is doped with the other one of P-type doping and N-type doping; and wherein the second doped region includes a slab at an optical gap slab between the rib bus waveguide and the rib ring waveguide and at least a first portion of the rib bus waveguide that is adjacent to the optical gap slab; wherein the layer of silicon further comprises: first and second undoped regions that include respective second and third portions of the rib bus waveguide on either side of the first portion of the rib bus waveguide; a heater element proximate to the ring modulator: wherein an upper surface of the substrate has an opening to a cavity therein; and wherein a perimeters of the opening and the cavity encompass regions of the optical modulation system that include the heater element and the ring modulator; wherein widths of the rib ring waveguides are within a range of 450 nanometers to 550 nanometers greater than a minimum width of a single mode straight/linear waveguide for single mode operation, as are well-known in the art for waveguiding and modulation functionality and since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or working ranges involves only routine skill in the art (In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233); and since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice (In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416); and since such a modification would have involved a mere change in the size of a component, a change in size is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art (In re Rose, 105 USPQ 237 (CCPA 1955)).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4, 5, 10, 11, 19, and 20 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the prior art of record, which is the closest prior art to the subject matter of the claims, does not disclose the limitations “wherein a width of the outer slab is greater than a width of the inner slab” (claims 4 and 19); “further comprising: an inductive component coupled to the PN junction and configured to match a reactance of the PN junction” (claim 10); “inductive elements coupled to the PN junctions configured to match reactances of the respective PN junctions” (claim 20). The prior art is simply silent to such structural limitations.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOHN M BEDTELYON whose telephone number is (571)270-1290. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00am - 4:30pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Uyen-Chau Le can be reached at 571-272-2397. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/John Bedtelyon/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2874