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 .
DETAILED ACTION
This is Non-Final Office Action, in responses to Patent Application filed 07/21/2023 is a National Stage entry of PCT/US2022/013578, International Filing Date: 01/24/2022, PCT/US2022/013578 Claims Priority from Provisional Application 63140784, filed 01/22/2021, PCT/US2022/013578; Claims Priority from Provisional Application 63293592, filed 12/23/2021. Claim(s) 1-13 are pending. Claim 1 is independent.
In addition, 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 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.
Information Disclosure Statement
A signed and dated copy of applicant’s IDS, which was filed 04/16/24, 5/16/24, 3/24/25 and 11/20/25 is/are attached to this Office Action.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claim(s) 1-13 fail to recite statutory subject matter, as defined in 35 U.S.C. 101, because: The claimed invention is/are directed to a judicial exception (i.e., abstract idea) without significantly more.
Step 1: YES (Claim(s) is/are process, machine, manufacture or composition of the matter). ... comprising: a first input coupled to a first qubit and a first switch, wherein the first switch includes a first output, a second output, and a third output;
a first single qubit measuring device coupled to the first output of the first switch; a second single qubit measuring device coupled to a first output of a second switch;
a first two qubit measuring device coupled to the second output of the first switch and a second output of the second switch; and
a second two qubit measuring device coupled to the third output of the first switch and a third output of the second switch....and therefore, fall into one of the four categories of patent eligible subject matter (process, machine, manufacture or composition of the matter).
Step 2A : Prong One: ( whether a claim recites a judicial exception ?) the claim(s) recite ... a first input coupled to a first “qubit and a first switch”, wherein the first switch includes a first output, a second output, and a third output;
a first single “qubit measuring device” coupled to the first output of the first switch; a second single qubit measuring device coupled to a first output of a second switch;
a first two “qubit measuring device coupled to the second output of the first switch and a second output of the second switch”; and
a second two “qubit measuring device coupled to the third output of the first switch and a third output of the second switch” ...These limitation(s) recite mathematical calculation.......since the qubit(s) measurements requires the generation and maintenance of long-range entanglement across the cluster state, which is a high level mathematical calculation to entangle the qubits as a part of the resource state(s) .... (as describes in US 20240303521 A1. Para(s) 67-70)....then carrying out a series of single qubit measurements on the cluster state to enact the quantum computation (“Apply It”) ... to receive every qubit of the cluster state and perform the requisite single particle measurements in order to generate the classical information required to compute the syndrome graph data required for the decoder to perform quantum error correction.
Step 2A : Prong Two: (Do the claim(s) recite “additional element(s) that integrate the “Judicial Exception” into “A Practical Application” ? The claim(s) recite additional limitation(s) such as ...” switches and measurement devices”... for manipulating the input/output qubit(s) ... to entangle the qubits as a part of the resource state(s)...it is noted, the improvement in the abstract idea itself ... but do not integrate the judicial exception into a practical application (see the US 20240303521 A1. Para(s)103-104; i.e., to receive every qubit of the cluster state and perform the requisite single particle measurements in order to generate the classical information required to compute the syndrome graph data required for the decoder to perform quantum error correction)...These limitation(s) only recite a generic computer system that only amounts to mere instructions to implement the abstract idea on a generic computer and therefore, do not integrate the judicial exception into a practical application. (MPEP 2106.04(d), 2106.05(f)).
Step 2B: (Whether a Claim Amounts to Significantly More) ? The claim(s) recite additional limitation(s) such as .. ”a system and switches and measurement devices”... manipulating the input/output qubit(s) coupled to switches (i.e., photonic switches ) and measuring device(s)... to perform quantum error correction....These limitation(s) only recite a generic computer component(s) that only amounts to mere instructions to implement the abstract idea on a computer, and therefore, do not amount to significantly more than the abstract idea itself (MPEP 2106.05, 2106.04(d) and 2106.05(f)).
As to the dependent claim(s) 2-13, further recite, addition limitation(s) such as, (fusion network controller circuit, the first qubit is entangled with one or more other qubits as part of a first resource state and the second qubit is entangled with one or more other qubits as part of a second resource state, wherein none of the qubits from the first resource state are entangled with any of the qubits from the second resource state, destructive joint measurements, classical information representing joint measurement outcomes, photonic qubits, photonic waveguides, measure the first qubit in a Z basis, projective Bell measurement between the first qubit and the first/second qubit, projective Bell measurement is a linear optical Type II fusion measurement and.. etc.) These limitation(s) only amounts to mere instructions to implement the abstract idea ...and do not include elements that amount to significantly more than the abstract idea and are also rejected under the same rational.
Accordingly, claims 1-13 fail to recite statutory subject matter, as defined in 35 U.S.C. 101.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim(s) 1-13 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 and amending to remedy the 101 rejection.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Monroe et al., (“ US 20210365827 A1” filed 12/15/2017 (Con from 15/844,357)), relates to modular quantum computer architecture is developed with a hierarchy of interactions that can scale to very large numbers of qubits. Local entangling quantum gates between qubit memories within a single modular register are accomplished using natural interactions between the qubits, and entanglement between separate modular registers is completed via a probabilistic photonic interface between qubits in different registers, even over large distances. This architecture is suitable for the implementation of complex quantum circuits utilizing the flexible connectivity provided by a reconfigurable photonic interconnect network. The subject architecture is made fault-tolerant which is a prerequisite for scalability. An optimal quantum control of multimode couplings between qubits is accomplished via individual addressing the qubits with segmented optical pulses to suppress crosstalk in each register, thus enabling high-fidelity gates that can be scaled to larger qubit registers for quantum computation and simulation... [the Abstract also Fig(s) 8-12].
Harrison et al., (“ 20120155870 A1” filed 01/25/2012 relates to routing entanglement building between a selected pairing of interface qubits (82). The qubits of the selected pairing of interface qubits (82) are separately entangled with at least one intermediate qubit (84) by interacting respective light fields with the interface qubits of the selected pairing and using an optical merge arrangement (83) to further interact the light fields with at least one intermediate qubit (84). Where there are multiple intermediate qubits (84) the intermediate qubits are entangled with each other. The or each entangled intermediate qubit (84) is then removed from entanglement... [the Abstract also Fig(s) 7A, 8 and 9].
Luken et al., (“ 20200274703 A1” filed 02/26/2020) relates to quantum key distribution include receiving a frequency bin photon at a location, selecting a frequency bin photon quantum key distribution measurement basis, with a quantum frequency processor, performing a measurement basis transformation on the received frequency bin photon so that the frequency bin photon is measurable in the selected frequency bin photon quantum key distribution measurement basis, and detecting the frequency bin photon in the selected quantum key distribution measurement basis and assigning a quantum key distribution key value based on the detection to a portion of a quantum key distribution key. Apparatus and methods for encoding, decoding, transmitting, and receiving frequency bin photons are disclosed... [the Abstract].
VaKili (“ 20230291551 A1” filed 03//09/2018 (US Patent 20230291551) ) relates to session authentication and random number generation. An example method includes receiving, by decoding circuitry and over a quantum line, a set of qubits generated based on a first set of quantum bases. The example method further includes decoding, by the decoding circuitry and based on a second set of quantum bases, the set of qubits to generate a decoded set of bits. In this example method, the first set of quantum bases is determined without reliance on the second set of quantum bases and the second set of quantum bases is determined without reliance on the first set of quantum bases. The example method further includes generating, by random number generation circuitry, a number comprising the decoded set of bits... [the Abstract].
Can et al., NPL (“An optical gate for simultaneous fusion of four photonic W or Bell states” Published 2013- 11 Pages, describing Quantum entanglement is at the heart of many quantum information and computation tasks. Creation, manipulation and quantification of bipartite entanglement has been understood relatively better than multipartite entanglement. Since multipartite entangled states are required for the implementation of many quantum tasks, we need a better understanding of multipartite entanglement..(Introduction).
Gross et al., NPL (“Potential and limits to cluster-state quantum computing using probabilistic gates” Published 2006 - 17 Pages, describing the necessary resource consumption when building up cluster states for one-way computing using probabilistic gates. Emphasis is put on state preparation with linear optical gates, as the
probabilistic character is unavoidable here. We identify rigorous general bounds to the necessary consumption of initially available maximally entangled pairs when building up one-dimensional cluster states with individually acting linear optical quantum gates, entangled pairs, and vacuum modes. As the known linear optics gates have a limited maximum success probability, as we show, this amounts to finding the optimal classical strategy of fusing pieces of linear cluster states. A formal notion of classical configurations and strategies is introduced for probabilistic nonfaulty gates. We study the asymptotic performance of strategies that can be simply described, and prove ultimate bounds to the performance of the globally optimal strategy. The arguments employ methods of random walks and convex optimization. This optimal strategy is also the one that requires the shortest storage time, and necessitates the fewest invocations of probabilistic gates. For two-dimensional cluster states, we find, for any elementary success probability, an essentially deterministic preparation of a cluster state with quadratic, hence optimal, asymptotic scaling in the use of entangled pairs. We also identify a percolation effect in state preparation, in that from a threshold probability on, almost all preparations will be either successful or fail. We outline the implications on linear optical architectures and fault-tolerant computations..(Abstract).
James et al., NPL (“Potential and limits to cluster-state quantum computing using probabilistic gates” Published 2006 - 17 Pages, describing in detail the “Linear optics with photon counting” is a prominent candidate for practical quantum computing. The protocol by Knill, Laflamme, and Milburn [2001, Nature (London) 409, 46] explicitly demonstrates that efficient scalable quantum computing with single photons, linear optical elements, and projective measurements is possible. Subsequently, several improvements on this protocol have started to bridge the gap between theoretical scalability and practical implementation. The original theory and its improvements are reviewed, and a few examples of experimental two-qubit gates are given. The use of realistic components, the errors they induce in the computation, and how these errors can be corrected is discussed...(Abstract).
Kok et al., NPL (“Linear optical quantum computing with photonic qubits” Published 2007 - 40 Pages, describing in detail the theory underpinning the measurement of density matrices of a pair of quantum two-level systems (‘‘qubits’’). Our particular emphasis is on qubits realized by the two polarization degrees of freedom of a pair of entangled photons generated in a down-conversion experiment; however, the discussion applies in general, regardless of the actual physical realization. Two techniques are discussed, namely, a tomographic reconstruction ( in which the density matrix is linearly related to a set of measured quantities and a maximum likelihood technique which requires numerical optimization but has the advantage of producing density matrices that are always non-negative definite). In addition, a detailed error analysis is presented, allowing errors in quantities derived from the density matrix, such as the entropy or entanglement of formation, to be estimated. Examples based on down-conversion experiments are used to illustrate our results..(Abstract).
Pryde et al., NPL (“Measuring a Photonic Qubit without Destroying It” Published 2004 - 4 Pages, describing in detail the measuring the polarization of a single photon typically results in its destruction. We propose, demonstrate, and completely characterize a quantum nondemolition (QND) scheme for realizing such a measurement nondestructively. This scheme uses only linear optics and photodetection of ancillary modes to induce a strong nonlinearity at the single-photon level, nondeterministically. We vary this QND measurement continuously into the weak regime and use it to perform a nondestructive test of complementarity in quantum mechanics. Our scheme realizes the most advanced general measurement of a qubit to date: it is nondestructive, can be made in any basis, and with arbitrary strength...(Abstract).
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/QUOC A TRAN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2145