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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of invention I at least claims 1 – 14 in the reply filed on 5/8/26 is acknowledged.
Claim Objections
Claim 3 is objected to because of the following informalities: “the same” should read “a same” in line 2; and “the thickness” should read “a thickness”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. The claim recites that the active region comprises the first cladding layer. However, claim 1 of which claim 8 depends upon via claim 7, recites that the passive region comprises a first cladding layer. Thus the bounds of the claims cannot be ascertained.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the enablement requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to enable one skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and/or use the invention. The claim recites that the passive region comprises the second portion. However the specification recites that the second portion is part of the active region (pars. 0047, 0068, figs. 1 and 2).
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.
Claims 1 – 7, 11, 13 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Baek et al. (U.S. Patent # 6,692,980 B2).
In Re claim 1, ‘980 teaches a semiconductor structure for a photonic integrated circuit, comprising: a substrate (100); a waveguide (120b and 130a) on the substrate; a passive region comprising a first cladding layer (135a or 170) in contact with a first portion (130a) of the waveguide; and an active region comprising a second cladding layer (125b) different to the first cladding layer, the second cladding layer in contact with a second portion of the waveguide (120b) and the first cladding layer (fig. 2k).
In Re claim 2, ‘980 teaches a third cladding layer (170) different to the first cladding layer and the second cladding layer (fig. 4), and in contact with the first cladding layer and the second cladding layer, the first cladding layer and the second cladding layer between the waveguide and the third cladding layer (fig. 2k).
In Re claim 3, ‘980 teaches wherein at least one of: the first cladding layer has substantially the same thickness as the second cladding layer (fig. 3D); or the thickness of each of the first cladding layer and the second cladding layer is greater than or equal to 4 x 10-7 m and/or less than or equal to 2 x 10-6m (since or statement the thickness is greater than 0.4 microns, col. 3, lines 59 – 61).
In Re claim 4, ’980 teaches wherein: the waveguide comprises a single waveguide layer comprising the first portion of the waveguide and the second portion of the waveguide (fig. 2k).
In Re claim 5, ‘980 teaches wherein: the waveguide comprises a first waveguide layer (130a) in the passive region; and the waveguide comprises a second waveguide layer (120b) in the active region, the second waveguide layer different to the first waveguide layer, the first waveguide layer in contact with the second waveguide layer.
In Re claim 6, ‘980 teaches a surface of the first cladding layer (170) in contact with the second cladding layer is offset (at 170 - 125b interface) from a surface of the first waveguide layer in contact with the second waveguide layer (along the side of 120b and 130a).
In Re claim 7, ‘980 teaches wherein: the active region comprises an electrical contact (180) for injecting charge carriers into the active region.
In Re claim 11, ‘980 teaches wherein: the first cladding layer (135) is substantially dopant free (col. 3, lines 39 – 40); and the second cladding layer has a dopant concentration of at least 1 x 1014cm-3 (col. 5, lines 16 – 19).
In Re claim 13, ‘980 teaches wherein: the active region corresponds to an optical amplifier (col. 5, lines 2 – 6) for the photonic integrated circuit; or the first cladding layer is of a first material (p doped InP, col. 5, lines 5 – 9) and the second cladding layer is of a second material (non-doped InP, col. 3, lines 40 – 41) different to the first material.
In Re claim 14, ‘980 teaches a photonic integrated circuit comprising a semiconductor structure, the semiconductor structure comprising:
a substrate (100); a waveguide (120b and 130a) on the substrate; a passive region comprising a first cladding layer (135a) in contact with a first portion (130a) of the waveguide; and an active region comprising a second cladding layer (125b) different to the first cladding layer, the second cladding layer in contact with a second portion of the waveguide (120b) and the first cladding layer (fig. 2k).
Alternatively, In Re claims 1 and 10, ‘980 teaches a semiconductor structure for a photonic integrated circuit, comprising: a substrate (100); a waveguide (120b and 130a) on the substrate; a passive region comprising a first cladding layer (115a is n-doped , col. 5, lines 14 – 16) in contact with a first portion (130a) of the waveguide; and an active region comprising a second cladding layer (170, col. 6, lines 48 – 49) different to the first cladding layer, the second cladding layer in contact with a second portion of the waveguide and the first cladding layer (fig. 4).
Claims 1 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yamatoya (U.S. PG Pub. # 2011/0235960 A1).
In Re claim 1, ‘960 teaches a semiconductor structure for a photonic integrated circuit, comprising: a substrate (20); a waveguide (24) on the substrate; a passive region comprising a first cladding layer (26) in contact with a first portion of the waveguide; and an active region comprising a second cladding layer (28) different to the first cladding layer, the second cladding layer in contact with a second portion of the waveguide and the first cladding layer (fig. 2).
In Re claim 11, ‘960 teaches wherein: the first cladding layer is substantially dopant free (par. 0029); and the second cladding layer has a dopant concentration of at least 1 x 1014cm-3 (par. 0027).
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.
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 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yamatoya (U.S. PG Pub. # 2011/0235960 A1).
‘980 teaches the structure of claim 1, and the wherein first cladding layer comprises Indium Phosphide (par. 0029), and the second cladding layer comprises Indium Phosphide (par. 0027), but is silent to the second cladding doped with one of Zinc, Magnesium and Beryllium.
It is well known to dope InP with Zinc, Magnesium or Beryllium to make the InP p -doped.
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use one of Zinc, Magnesium or Beryllium as a dopant to make the InP p – doped as they are readily available material yielding predictable results.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHAD SMITH whose telephone number is (571)270-1294. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30 - 5.
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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 1-571-272-2397. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CHAD H SMITH/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2874
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