Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/275,963

TWO-DIMENSIONAL PHOTONIC CRYSTAL LASER

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Aug 04, 2023
Examiner
MENEFEE, JAMES A
Art Unit
2828
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Kyoto University
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
80%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 10m
To Grant
92%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 80% — above average
80%
Career Allow Rate
123 granted / 153 resolved
+12.4% vs TC avg
Moderate +12% lift
Without
With
+11.9%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 10m
Avg Prosecution
35 currently pending
Career history
188
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.6%
-39.4% vs TC avg
§103
39.8%
-0.2% vs TC avg
§102
18.3%
-21.7% vs TC avg
§112
20.2%
-19.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 153 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
No n-Final Rejection The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Claims 1-12 are pending. 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. Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2020/0373739 (“Hirose”) in view of WO 2021/006338 (“Noda”). The WIPO document is used because it has a better date , prior to the effective filing date . See US 2022/0128696 for translation purposes only and citations below, it is a continuation of the WIPO document and has the same disclosure. Hirose Fig s . 1 -4 and discussion thereof shows a two-dimensional photonic crystal laser (and [0127] says they can be in an array ) comprising: a) a pair of electrode s 16,17 ; b) an active layer 12 provided between the pair of electrodes and, upon being supplied with an electric current from one of the electrodes, configured to generate light including a predetermined wavelength λ L at a position corresponding to the electrode from which the electric current is supplied (see Noda discussion below) ; and c) a two-dimensional photonic crystal layer 15 provided between any one of the pair of electrode groups and the active layer and including a plate-shaped base member 15a and a plurality of modified refractive index regions 15b disposed in the base member and having a refractive index different from a refractive index of the base member, wherein at a corresponding one of lattice points of a square lattice in which the lattice points are periodically disposed with a lattice point period corresponding to the predetermined wavelength λ L (see Fig. 4 and [0136], lattice interval corresponds to wavelength) , each of the plurality of modified refractive index regions is disposed to be shifted from the lattice point in one predetermined direction or a direction different from the one direction by 180° , the one direction being a direction parallel to the two-dimensional photonic crystal layer and inclined from both two directions in which the lattice points are disposed with the lattice point period (see Fig. 4, each is shifted along line D inclined from the lattice point direction ) , and in a direction parallel to the two-dimensional photonic crystal layer, a distance from the lattice point of each of the plurality of modified refractive index regions is modulated so as to periodically change with a predetermined modulation period, and the modulation period varies depending on a position in the two-dimensional photonic crystal layer (in Fig. 4, in the X direction the shift distance is modulated to periodically change, and the period varies depending on position, i.e. row 1 differs from row 2 which differs from row 3) . Hirose only shows a pair of electrodes in Fig. 1 , not the electrode as a group of partial electrodes as claimed . Noda shows a similar photonic crystal laser and shows an embodiment where an array has electrodes as a plurality of partial electrodes. See e.g. Fig. 33C , electrodes E1-4 . It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to use such an electrode arrangement as it permits control of the beam direction. See Noda [0239]-[0244]. Light is generated at a position corresponding to the partial electrode from which the electric current is supplied as claimed . Allowable Subject Matter Claims 1-11 are allowed. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Regarding claim 1, there is not taught or disclosed in the prior art a photonic crystal laser wherein the plurality of modified refractive index regions are disposed to be shifted by different shift amounts from respective lattice points of a two-dimensional lattice which are periodically disposed in the base member with a period corresponding to the predetermined wavelength, or/and are disposed at the respective lattice points with different areas, the shift amount or/and the area of each of the plurality of modified refractive index regions is/are modified with a composite modulation period in which a plurality of periods different from each other are superposed on each other, and is/are expressed by a modulation phase Ψ(r↑) which is defined in the claim, and the amplitude A n and/or the phase exp( i α n ) for each value of n differ(s) from each other in at least two different values of n. Conclusion Other references are cited showing photonic crystal lasers having shifted modified refractive index regions . Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT James Menefee whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)272-1944 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT M-F 7-4 . Examiner interviews are available via telephone 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 MinSun Harvey can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT (571) 272-1835 . The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of applications may be obtained from Patent Center. See : https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /JAMES A MENEFEE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2828
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Aug 04, 2023
Application Filed
Mar 05, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

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METHOD FOR PRODUCING A SEMI-CONDUCTOR LASER ARRANGEMENT, AND SEMI-CONDUCTOR LASER ARRANGEMENT
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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
80%
Grant Probability
92%
With Interview (+11.9%)
2y 10m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 153 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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