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. Status of Claims This Office Action is in response to the application filed on January 24, 2023. Claims 1-20 are presently pending and are presented for examination. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statements (IDSs) were submitted on January 24, 2023 and June 4, 2024. The submissions are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner. Claim Objections Claims 1 and 11 are objected to because of the following informalities: the term a end position should recite “ an end position.” Appropriate correction is required. 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 is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis 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, 6-11, and 16-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Pub. No. 2022/0077948 (hereinafter, “ Lu ”) . Regarding claim 1, Lu discloses A non-transitory computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution by one or more processors of a computing system (see at least [0004]) , cause the computing system to perform actions for designing a physical device (see at least [0004]; a physical device may be designed) , the actions comprising: receiving, by the computing system, a design specification that includes an input location, an output location, and at least one performance goal (see at least [ 0004 ] , [0059], [0068], [0071]-[0072], and [0086]-[0087] ; the initial design parameters may be received, and optimization to achieve a reduced loss metric associated with a performance loss or fabrication loss may be the at least one performance goal ) ; generating, by the computing system, an initial design based on the design specification, wherein the initial design includes an input waveguide starting at the input location and extending to a end position, an output waveguide starting at a start position and extending to the output location, and a dispersive region (see at least Fig. 4A-B, [ 0004 ] , [0011] and [0048]-[0049] ; the initial design may include a dispersive region ) ; determining, by the computing system, a set of structural parameters based on the initial design (see at least [ 0071 ] -[0073] ; structural parameters and ranges are determined for the initial design ) ; simulating, by the computing system, performance of the initial design using the set of structural parameters to determine a performance loss value based on the at least one performance goal (see at least [0004], [0059], [0068], [0071]-[0073], and [0086]-[0087]; the initial design parameters may be received, and optimization to achieve a reduced loss metric associated with a performance loss or fabrication loss may be the at least one performance goal which may be determined via at least one simulation) ; and updating, by the computing system, at least one of the end position of the input waveguide, the start position of the output waveguide, or a size of the dispersive region in the initial design using a gradient of the performance loss value (see at least [ 0053 ] , [0066], and [0075]-[0076] ; design iterations are performed which update various parameters including the size of the dispersive region based at least on a gradient of the performance loss value ) . Regarding claim 6 , Lu discloses all of the limitations of claim 1. Additionally, Lu discloses wherein the design specification includes more than one input location and wherein the initial design includes more than one input waveguide; or wherein the design specification includes more than one output location and wherein the initial design includes more than one output waveguide (see at least [ 0036 ] and [0090] ; there may be a plurality of input waveguides ) . Regarding claim 7 , Lu discloses all of the limitations of claim 1. Additionally, Lu discloses wherein the initial design includes more than one dispersive region (see at least Fig. 4A-B, [0004], [0011] and [0048]-[0049]; the initial design may include a dispersive region) . Regarding claim 8 , Lu discloses all of the limitations of claim 7 . Additionally, Lu discloses wherein the initial design includes one or more internal waveguides connecting the dispersive regions (see at least [ 0036 ]; the dispersive region may be disposed between the input and output regions which may each be waveguides ) . Regarding claim 9 , Lu discloses all of the limitations of claim 7 . Additionally, Lu discloses wherein the more than one dispersive region includes at least one dispersive region configured to operate as a multiplexer or demultiplexer, and at least one dispersive region configured to operate as a waveguide bend (see at least [ 0036 ]; the dispersive region may operate as a demultiplexer, and it may operate as a waveguide bend disposed between a waveguide input and output ) . Regarding claim 10 , Lu discloses all of the limitations of claim 1. Additionally, Lu discloses wherein the actions further comprise transmitting the updated initial design to a fabrication system for fabricating the physical device (see at least claims 10 and 20 ) . Claims 11 and 16- 20 are rejected under essentially the same reasoning as claims 1 and 6 -10, respec tively. Additionally, Lu discloses that the claims may be performed via a computer/computer equivalent at least at [ 0026 ]. Allowable Subject Matter Each of claims 2-5 and 12-15 are objected to as depending from a rejected claim but may be found allowable if re-written in independent form, including all intervening claims. Examiner will provide reasons for allowability at the time one or more claims is in a state of allowance. Additional Relevant Art The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure and may be found on the accompanying PTO-892 Notice of References Cited: U.S. Pub. No. 2023/0088537 which discloses the use of a signed distance field to represent the starting shape of a generative model. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT TIFFANY P YOUNG whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (313)446-6575 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT M-R 6:30 AM- 4:30 PM . 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, FILLIN "SPE Name?" \* MERGEFORMAT Erin Bishop can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT (571) 270-3713 . 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