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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 9/6/23, 12/6/24, 11/20/25, and 2/24/26 were filed in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
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, 5-7, 11-13, 16, 19, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Keyser et al. (US 10,243,319 B1).
Re. Claim 1, Keyser et al. discloses a multiple wavelength light source device 10, configured to generate output radiation comprising a plurality of discrete output wavelength bands (Fig. 1; col. 5 lines 31-40 and 67; col. 6 lines 1-5), the device comprising:
a pump radiation source arrangement 11 configured to generate input radiation comprising at least a first frequency component and a second frequency component (Fig. 1; col. 5 lines 31-40); and
a hollow-core photonic crystal fiber 28 configured to confine a working medium, the hollow-core photonic crystal fiber 28 configured to receive the input radiation and to generate the plurality of discrete output wavelength bands distributed over a wavelength range of interest via a seed-assisted cascaded four wave mixing (FWM) process in the working medium (Fig. 1; col. 5 lines 40-55; col. 6 lines 5-15).
Re. Claim 2, Keyser et al. discloses said plurality of discrete output wavelength bands number between 5 and 30 wavelength bands (e.g., four different frequency component inputs yields five output signals having discrete output bands.; col. 6 lines 22-31).
Re. Claims 5-6, Keyser et al. discloses a combination of pulse energy of the input radiation and length of the hollow-core photonic crystal fiber is such that self-phase modulation is avoided (col. 9 lines 55-61), wherein the avoidance of self-phase modulation is such that the discrete wavelength bands within the wavelength range of interest do not overlap (col. 5 lines 35-55; col. 6 lines 22-28).
Re. Claim 7, Keyser et al. discloses the pump radiation source 11 comprises a pump radiation source 12/20 configured to output pump radiation comprising the first frequency component; and further comprising a seed generation element 16 configured to generate the said second frequency component from the said pump radiation (Fig. 1; col. 5 lines 40-55 and 67; col. 6 lines 1-12).
Re. Claim 11, Keyser et al. discloses a frequency difference between the first frequency component and the second frequency component is between 10nm and 200nm (col. 6 lines 39-45).
Re. Claim 12, Keyser et al. discloses the wavelength range of interest comprises at least wavelengths between 400 nm and 2000 nm (col. 6 lines 1-15 and 59-64).
Re. Claim 13, Keyser et al. discloses a method of generating output radiation comprising a plurality of discrete output wavelength bands, the method comprising:
generating input radiation comprising at least a first frequency component and a second frequency component (Fig. 1; col. 5 lines 31-40); and
exciting a confined working medium with the input radiation to generate the plurality of discrete output wavelength bands distributed over a wavelength range of interest via a seed-assisted cascaded four wave mixing (FWM) process within the working medium (Fig. 1; col. 5 lines 40-55; col. 6 lines 5-15).
Re. Claim 16, Keyser et al. discloses the plurality of discrete output wavelength bands number between 5 and 30 wavelength bands (e.g., four different frequency component inputs yields five output signals having discrete output bands.; col. 6 lines 22-31).
Re. Claim 19, Keyser et al. discloses optimizing a combination of pulse energy of the input radiation and length of the hollow-core photonic crystal fiber such that self-phase modulation is avoided (col. 9 lines 55-61).
Re. Claim 20, Keyser et al. discloses setting a bandwidth of each discrete output wavelength band by appropriate setting of a pulse width of the input radiation and/or setting a band separation between adjacent discrete output wavelength bands by setting a frequency difference between the first frequency component and the second frequency component (col. 6 lines 16-38).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
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, 4, 17, and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Keyser et al. (US 10,243,319 B1).
Re. Claims 3 and 17, Keyser et al. discloses the device and method as discussed above, but fails to disclose the length of the hollow-core photonic crystal fiber 28. Accordingly, Keyser et al. does not disclose an arrangement wherein the hollow-core photonic crystal fiber has a length of between 1 cm and 30 cm.
The claimed arrangement would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Re. Claims 4 and 18, Keyser et al. discloses the device as discussed above, but fails to disclose a combination of pulse energy of the input radiation and length of the hollow-core photonic crystal fiber is such that at least one discrete output wavelength band of the plurality of discrete output wavelength bands is centered at 700nm or below.
The claimed arrangement would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, since it has been held that discovering an optimum value of a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art. In re Boesch, 617 F.2d 272, 205 USPQ 215 (CCPA 1980).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 8-10, 14, and 15 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.
Re. Claims 8-9, the prior art does not disclose or reasonably suggest a multiple wavelength light source device as required by the claim, specifically wherein the seed generation element comprises: a spectral broadening element configured to broaden the spectrum of a portion of the pump radiation; and a filter configured to separate the second frequency component from the broadened radiation.
Re. Claim 10, the prior art does not disclose or reasonably suggest a multiple wavelength light source device as required by the claimed invention, wherein the seed generation element comprises one of a difference-frequency generator, an optical parametric generator, an optical parametric amplifier or an optical parametric oscillator.
Re. Claim 14, the prior art does not disclose or reasonably suggest a method as required by the claimed invention, comprising generating the said first frequency component and the said second frequency component from a single pump radiation source operable to output pump radiation at only the said first frequency.
Re. Claim 15, the prior art does not disclose or reasonably suggest a metrology device comprising: a substrate support for supporting a substrate; the device required by the claim; at least one optical system operable to direct the output radiation from the device to the substrate and capture radiation having scattered from the substrate.
The most applicable prior art, Keyser et al. (US 10,243,319 B1), addressed above, fails to disclose or reasonably suggest the claimed invention, specifically those portions highlighted above in combination with the remaining limitations of the claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See the attached PTO-892.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to R. PEACE whose telephone number is (571)272-8580. The examiner can normally be reached 9-5 pm.
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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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/RHONDA S PEACE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2874 6/2/26
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