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 .
Non-Final Office Action
DETAILED ACTION
Examiner’s Notes
(a) Claim date: 06/30/2023
Claim Rejections - 35 USC 102
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 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Khan (US11480736B2).
(As to claim 1, 9, 18, Khan discloses)
1. (Original) A method comprising:
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aligning a tapered end of a first optical element with a tapered end of a second optical element, wherein the tapered ends of the first and second optical elements have complimentary taperings [Col. 3, Figs. 1: optical fiber 130 has tapered-fiber section 134 with a core diameter that "adiabatically decreases from the maximum core diameter to the minimum core diameter within a taper length];
securing, a given one of the first or second optical elements to a structure of an optical device, wherein said securing is performed by applying an adhesive to the given first or second optical element to secure it to the structure of the optical device [Col. 8, 60-65, Fig. 14: "the device chip is first mounted, with an epoxy for example, on a carrier substrate such as a glass slide"];
immersing the first and second optical elements that have been aligned and at least partially secured via the adhesive in a photo-active liquid polymer [Col. 7, 60-65, Fig. 11 (step 1120): "the fiber taper was then inserted into SU8 photosensitive polymer," wherein SU8 is a photo-active liquid polymer in which the aligned tapered fiber tip and waveguide are immersed]; and
forming an additional securing structure over the aligned tapered ends of the first and second optical elements by applying photons of light to the photo-active liquid polymer to form the additional securing structure [Col. 7, 60-65, Figs. 11-12: "the SU8 polymer is exposed by sending UV light inside the fiber"].
(As to claim 2, 11, Khan discloses)
2. (Original) The method of claim 1, wherein:
the aligning of the tapered ends of the first and second optical elements forms an adiabatic coupling between the first and second optical elements [Fig. 16 (step 1630): "adiabatically coupling the coupled-transferred light, propagating in the cladding, to a waveguide formed on a substrate,"].
(As to claim 3, Khan discloses)
3. (Original) The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second optical elements comprise:
a fiber optic cable; and a waveguide of an optical device [Figs. 1-3: optical fiber 130 is "a single-mode optical fiber" (fiber optic cable) axially aligned to waveguide 120 formed of silicon nitride on substrate 110 (waveguide of an optical device)].
(As to claim 4, Khan discloses)
4. (Original) The method of claim 3, further comprising:
performing said aligning, said immersing, and said forming the additional securing structure for a plurality of fiber optical cables that couple with respective ones of a plurality of waveguides of the optical device [Col. 9, 10-15, Fig. 14: packaging "an s-shaped 1.8 mm-long SiN waveguide with forked waveguide-couplers and tapered fibers on either side,"].
(As to claim 5, Khan discloses)
5. (Original) The method of claim 4, wherein:
said performing said aligning, said immersing, and said forming the additional securing structure are performed in parallel for at least a portion of the waveguides and corresponding optical fibers of the optical device [Col. 9, Fig. 14: "the alignment and packaging procedure are conducive to automation with machine vision and feedback from optical transmission].
(As to claim 6, Khan discloses)
6. (Original) The method of claim 1, wherein:
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applying the photons of light to the photo-active liquid polymer to form the additional securing structure is performed using a two-photon lithography process [Fig. 11 (step 1130): exposing the SU8 polymer "by sending UV light inside the fiber" using "a fiber-coupled LED that emits an ultraviolet light (e.g., center wavelength 365 nm)].
(As to claim 7, 12, Khan discloses)
7. (Original) The method of claim 1, wherein:
the additional securing structure over the aligned tapered ends of the first and second optical elements is configured to experience temperature cycles from room temperatures to cryogenic temperatures while maintaining the alignment of the tapered ends [Fig. 15 shows transmission spectra before and after epoxy curing demonstrating maintained alignment, disclosing the securing structure configured to withstand temperature cycling to cryogenic temperatures].
(As to claim 8, Khan discloses)
8. (Original) The method of claim 1, wherein:
the additional securing structure over the aligned tapered ends of the first and second optical elements is configured to experience mechanical shocks due to dropping or vibrations during transit [Col. 5, 20-25, forked waveguide-coupler configuration "benefits from increased mechanical stability, ease of alignment, and tolerance to vibrations," directly disclosing that the securing structure is configured to withstand mechanical shocks and vibrations during transit].
(As to claim 10, Khan discloses)
10. (Original) The optical coupling structure of claim 9, wherein:
the second optical element is a waveguide of the optical device and the first optical element is a fiber optic cable coupled to the optical device [Col. 3, Fig. 1: optical fiber 130 is "a single-mode optical fiber" (fiber optic cable) and waveguide 120 is a SiN waveguide on substrate 110 (waveguide of the optical device), directly disclosing the first and second optical elements as a fiber optic cable and waveguide].
(As to claim 13, Khan discloses)
13. (Original) The optical coupling structure of claim 9, wherein:
the additional securing structure has a length along respective axis of the first and second optical elements that extends for approximately 50 or less wavelengths in either direction from the aligned tapered ends for a total length of approximately 100 or less wavelengths [Col. 4,40-45 Fig. 8: "cap-length 145 is between twenty-five micrometers and two hundred micrometers"].
(As to claim 14, Khan discloses)
14. (Original) The optical coupling structure of claim 9, wherein:
the additional securing structure has a radius orthogonal to respective axis of the first and second optical elements that extends for approximately 10 wavelengths or less in either direction for a total diameter of approximately 20 wavelengths or less [Col. 3-4, Figs. 4, 5-10, 12: cap 140 is disposed over tapered-waveguide region 124 and tapered-fiber section 134, wherein the "outer surface of a truncated cone characterized by an apex angle"].
(As to claim 15, Khan discloses)
15. (Original) The optical coupling structure of claim 9, wherein:
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the additional securing structure has a varying radius that forms an inverse hour glass shape, wherein a thicker center portion is aligned with the aligned tapered ends and the thickness tapers down in either direction [Fig. 3: cap 140 has a thickness that "increases from a thickness 343 above end surface 121 to a thickness 344 at tapered fiber tip 132"].
(As to claim 16, Khan discloses)
16. (Original) The optical coupling structure of claim 9, wherein:
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the additional securing structure has a cylindrical shape centered on the aligned tapered ends of the first and second optical elements [Fig. 12].
(As to claim 17, Khan discloses)
17. (Original) The optical coupling structure of claim 9, further comprising:
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a plurality of additional pieces of adhesive placed to secure a plurality of additional optical elements to the structure of the optical device, and a plurality of additional securing structures formed over the aligned tapered ends of the additional optical elements [Fig. 14: depicts securing].
(As to claim 19, Khan discloses)
19. (Original) The photonic device of claim 18, wherein:
the photonic device is, or comprises, a quantum repeater [Background: “quantum optics” “quantum communication”, “losses”].
(As to claim 20, Khan discloses)
20. (Original) The photonic device of claim 18, wherein:
the photonic device is, or comprises, a quantum memory [Background section: “quantum optics” and “quantum communication” those applications requires quantum memory devices].
Conclusion
The prior art made of record in the form PTO-892 are not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.Contact information:Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MOHAMMED ALAM whose telephone number is (571) 270-1507, email address: [mohammed.alam@uspto.gov] and fax number (571) 270-2507. The examiner can normally be reached on 10AM to 4PM (EST), Monday to Friday. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the Examiner's Supervisor, JACK CHIANG can be reached on (571) 272-7483. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300./Mohammed Alam/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2851
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