Detailed Office 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 .
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.
Examiner’s Comment – Independent Claim 1
In this Office action, independent claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dress et al. (2008/0008472, “Dress”) in view of Komatsu et al. (2018/0278014; “Komatsu”), further in view of Tsunoda et al. (4,426,132; “Tsunoda”), and further in view of van Assenbergh et al. (Anisotropic Stiffness Adhesives for High Shear Forces on Soft Substrates. Adv. Mater. Interfaces2020, 7, 2001173; “van Assenbergh”).
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 of this title, 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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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.
Claims 1-6
Claims 1-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dress et al. (2008/0008472, “Dress”) in view of Komatsu et al. (2018/0278014; “Komatsu”), further in view of Tsunoda et al. (4,426,132; “Tsunoda”), and further in view of van Assenbergh et al. (Anisotropic Stiffness Adhesives for High Shear Forces on Soft Substrates. Adv. Mater. Interfaces2020, 7, 2001173; “van Assenbergh”).
Regarding independent claim 1, Dress discloses in figures 18 and 19, and related figures and text, for example, Dress – Selected Text, embodiments of optical configurations and related methods in which lens arrays 1820 and 1910 receive light emitted from semiconductor light emitters A, B, C … and then direct the received light onto photo-diode receivers A, B, C…. Dress, figures 18 and 19, and related figures and text, for example, Dress – Selected Text.
Dress – Figures 18 and 19
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[0165] Optical Interconnect
[0166] A significant feature of the wafer-scale interconnect system is a lens array that both spreads the light from each individual emitter and collects this spread light, reflected from a plane mirror back onto the wafer, focusing light beams onto each of the individual photo-diode receivers. The emitters themselves should be modulated light sources in the form of gas plasma discharge devices, light-emitting diodes (LEDs) or solid-state lasers.
[0167] In the invention, light from each emitter illuminates the entire wafer after reflection from a mirror held parallel to the water surface. A compound-lens array focuses this light on to each node. Since the emitters are varying distances from a given target node, the focal points at the target node are at different locations, effectively imaging the array of nodes onto each node in the array. An additional microlens array can be placed just above each node so that the focused light from the main lens array is further concentrated on the individual receiver photo-diodes distributed across each node.
[0224] Optical Fan-Out & Broadcast
[0229] Light from each emitter in the interconnect can undergo an initial optical fan-out by integral optics that are coupled to the emitter(s), such as a spreading and shaping lens commonly packaged with one or more gas plasma discharge emitters, lasers or light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Further, the integrated optic and emitter can be integral with the circuit(s) that provide the signal and/or the power to the emitter(s). In the invention, fan-out can be increased as needed through the use of one or more optic(s) placed in line with the emitter and preferably lying substantially in the plane of the light-collecting optics. (These light-collecting optical elements will be described in more detail in a subsequent section.)
[0230] Once the light from an emitter is sufficiently spread out so as to cover or illuminate an entire set of receiving elements, or at least a subset of the receiving elements, the light should then be sufficiently concentrated so that individual receiving elements (e.g., photoreceivers) will have sufficient intensity to allow detection of the signal being broadcast. If the originating light beam is sufficiently powerful, then no additional concentrating element is required. Such an arrangement is practical only for broadcast to a set of receivers lying within a small area. The larger this receiving region, the more powerful the light source should be to supply sufficient power to each detector (e.g., photoreceiver).
[0231] The invention overcomes the problems of inadequate light intensity at the receivers as well as the problem of maintaining precise alignment of the emitter beam with the receiver position by a novel configuration of diverging and converging optics. In contrast to the usual approach to the FSOI problem, maintaining a precise direction of the emitter beam is no longer a critical parameter. In the invention, a critical parameter becomes the position of the emitter with respect to the set of receivers; something that is relatively easy to achieve in printed-circuit boards (PCBs) and multi-chip modules (MCMs). The lithographic processes presently used in fabrication of silicon micro-electronics are at least an order of magnitude more precise than needed to achieve the accuracy that is required for the invention. Thus, the constraint on beam direction in point-to-point systems is replaced by the easier-to-achieve positional constraint provided by the invention
[0225] The invention has been reduced to practice and demonstrates interconnecting large numbers of processing elements within a small volume. The invention makes use of optical fan-out wherein a single light emitter can broadcast its signal to multiple receivers. Although a given emitter can broadcast to multiple receivers efficiently and effectively, a single receiver should not receive information from more than a single emitter, otherwise message contention as well as confusion of origin can arise. Electrically, this fan-out function would be achieved by an electrical fan-out or multiplexing circuit, often referred to as an electrical cross bar, along with buffer amplifiers for each pathway from a given emitting node. Optically, a simple way to accomplish fan-out is by spreading the output of an emitter with an optical element and then refocusing portions of the fanned-out beam with multiple collecting lenses. Since a broadcast message reaches all receiving nodes in the system nearly simultaneously, a destination code is required to identify the desired recipient or recipients of the transmitted message; such a code is necessary for broadcasting messages both electrically and optically.
[0233] Referring to FIG. 18, a form of optical multiplexing is enabled without the need for multiple amplifiers or buffers as in the case of an electrical multiplexer or fiber-optic star multiplexer. FIG. 18 illustrates how information from a single emitter can be broadcast to multiple receivers using a set of light-collecting and focusing (e.g., converging) elements.
[0234] FIG. 18 illustrates optical broadcast from a single emitter located at the apex of the cone of light on the left of the figure, representing an embodiment of the invention. The light from this single emitter has been fanned-out by appropriate optics not shown in this figure (e.g., a diverging concave-concave Fresnel lens). An array of light-collecting and focusing optics 1810 is represented by the column of ovals shown on the right side of the figure. Each element 1820 of the light-collecting and focusing optics 1810 can be one, or more than one, lens or any other light converging and focusing capable optical spreading structure. The light-collecting and focusing elements 1820 can include a convex lens, a concave-convex lens and/or a convex-convex lens. The light-collecting and focusing elements 1820 can include a Fresnel lens.
[0235] Fanned-out light incident on each collecting optic can be focused onto a photoreceiver located at the apex 1830 of the light cones to the right of the optic array. Thus, light from a single emitter is made available to multiple receivers through the use of fan-out with the result that information contained in the light is broadcast to all receivers that lie at an appropriate focal point of the collecting optics. It can be appreciated that the receivers can be located in a coplanar arrangement. Any particular receiver can ignore a message by examining a code (e.g., header in a broadcast packet) designed to specify message destination, and determining that the message is ear-marked for another node. The combination of the fan-out and multiplexing nature of the exemplary lens structure disclosed in this document comprises a particular approach of achieving a fully interconnected, broadcast, optical-interconnect system and the invention is of course not limited to the described examples.
[0236] Optical Interconnect
[0237] The invention significantly avoids joining and splitting problems associated with confined light beams as in light pipes or fiber optics. Moreover, the invention significantly avoids the more severe problems associated with electrical interconnects and point-to-point FSOI methods.
[0238] Referring to FIG. 19, a set of three emitters A, B, C are located on the left side and a set of receivers are located on the right side of the illustration. FIG. 19 illustrates the concept of broadcasting optical information from a plurality of emitters to a plurality of receivers. All three of the fanned-out signals from emitters A, B, C are collected and focused by the set of light collecting and focusing optics 1910. It is important to appreciate that FIG. 19 represents an "unfolded" configuration wherein the emitters and receivers lie in different planes. It is possible, and it is a preferred embodiment of the invention, to employ a folded configuration wherein a mirror is placed substantially parallel to a plane containing both the emitters and the receivers. FIG. 19 can adequately represent a folded configuration by simply imaging the mirror to lie precisely halfway between the emitter plane on the left and the receiver plane on the right, with its reflective side towards the emitter-receiver array. In this interpretation of the graphic, the illustration has been unfolded, not the device itself and the receiver array on the right is the mirror image of the actual receivers which lie in the plane of emitters on the left. Please note that the sequence of A, B, C on the left from top to bottom is reversed to c, b, a on the right from top to bottom, consistent with a (reversed) mirror image. Where convenient, an unfolded graphic will be used to illustrate both folded and unfolded configurations of the optical interconnect.
[0239] Referring to FIG. 19, fan-out from multiple sources falling on the same set of collecting and focusing optics 1910 is depicted. This optical multiplexing establishes an optical fabric that connects n sources to n.times.m receivers in broadcast mode, where there are m receiver arrays in the system (n need not equal m). Each emitter is labeled by an upper-case letter (A, B, C) on the left. Each of the set of receiver arrays 1940 on the right (7 are depicted in FIG. 19) receives light from each of the three emitters. The individual receivers are labeled by lower-case letters (c, b, a). Since light from mutually incoherent sources does not interfere at an optical element and light from different sources does not interfere in free space, light reaching a particular receiver, say any of the a receivers, originates only at a single emitter (A in this case).
[0240] The mirror element (not shown in FIG. 19) need not be a specularly reflecting device such as a first-surface, metalized glass substrate. It is possible to replace the mirror with a diffuse reflector as found in a movie or projector screen. In this screen implementation, the light from the emitters is not spread out, but kept in narrowly focused beams. The array of beams then impacts the screen in a precise grid of points. Each beam then undergoes a diffuse reflection from the screen and illuminates the entire array of collecting lenses. More light is lost in this approach than in a specular reflection from a metalized mirror, so the emitters should be correspondingly brighter. Alignment is more difficult in this case as each emitted beam should be directed precisely onto a location on the screen to within an accuracy that is approximately half the size of the active portion of a receiver (usually a few hundred microns or smaller) multiplied by the optical power as explained above. The angular constraint on the parallelism of the plane of the screen with the plane of the receivers remains as before, but the overall effect of an optical broadcast interconnect is achievable.
[0241] The arrangement of emitters, receivers, lenses, and mirror or screen form the optical backplane or fabric that interconnects each processor node optically to every other processor node in the computing cluster. The fundamental concepts that allow this interconnect method to function effectively and efficiently are the aforementioned optical fan-out and optical broadcast. This document discloses several methods to achieve effective optical coupling between emitter and receiver stations.
[0274] Electro-Optical Layer
[0275] To achieve an efficient coupling of n nodes, each emitting and receiving modulated light in a broadcast mode, where each node can receive optical signals from every other node simultaneously, an optical system is required. First, the optics should sufficiently spread out light from each emitter so that each receiver is illuminated. Second, this mixture of light from all emitters that falls onto each receiving node should be spatially de-multiplexed into separate beams so that each node receives a distance light beam from each emitting node. This can be accomplished by the optical interconnect layer disclosed herein.
[0276] The next stage in establishing an interconnection of an array of processing modes should consider the conversion of electrical signals to be sent from processing elements to optical signals for transmission within the device. This stage also needs to consider the reception of optical signals by a suitable optical structure, and a conversion of the optical signals back to electrical signals for use by the processing elements.
[0277] The receivers and emitters, along with associated drivers and amplifiers comprise the electro-optic portion of the node. These parts can be mounted on a printed-circuit board (PCB) or a multi-chip module (MCM) substrate; this submodule can be termed the electro-optic (EO) layer. The context of the free-space, optical fan-out broadcast interconnect disclosed herein can include an electro-optical interconnect that performs an electrical-to-optical (EO) conversion as well as an optical-to-electrical (OE) conversion. The optical interconnect is the structure that interfaces the EO portion to the OE portion so that the resulting system has the desired property of establishing fast and efficient communication channels between processing nodes (modules). An EO layer including emitters, receivers, and associated electronics is depicted in FIGS. 25A-25B.
Further regarding claim 1, Komatsu discloses in figure 2, and related figures and text, for example, Komatsu – Selected Text, embodiments of optically coupled devices 113 and lenses 114 adhesively attached to the flat top surface of base 111. Komatsu, figure 2, and related figures and text, for example, Komatsu – Selected Text.
Komatsu – Figure 2
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Abstract. To provide an optical subassembly, an optical module, and an optical transmission equipment including simpler components. A first component with an optical semiconductor device mounted thereon that dissipates heat generated by the optical semiconductor device to outside, a second component in contact with the first component to form a box type housing, and a receptacle terminal that optically joined to the optical semiconductor device are provided, wherein the second component includes a window structure for transmitting light transmitted between the optical semiconductor device and the receptacle terminal, and the receptacle terminal is fused and fixed to the outside of the window structure.
[0026] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a structure of an optical subassembly 101 according to the embodiment. Like FIG. 4, for understanding of the structure of the optical subassembly 101, a part of an enclosure 119 (case) on the section along the center line is shown. The optical receiver module 23A (or optical transmitter module 23B) shown in FIG. 1 includes one or more optical subassemblies 101. Unlike the optical subassembly 201 shown in FIG. 4, the optical subassembly 101 according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 forms a box type housing with a base 111 (first component) and the enclosure 119 (second component). On the base 111, a plurality of components are mounted, and here, a control integrated circuit 112 (IC), an optical semiconductor device 113, a lens 114, and a printed circuit board 115 are mounted. The optical semiconductor device 113 is an optical device that photoelectrically converts one of an optical signal and an electric signal into the other. The optical subassembly 101 according to the embodiment is a ROSA (Receiver Optical Sub-Assembly) and the optical semiconductor device 113 is a light-receiving element such as a PD (Photo Diode). The light-receiving element photoelectrically converts an optical signal into an electric signal. The control integrated circuit 112 is an IC having a transimpedance amplifier (TIA) function here. However, the optical subassembly 101 according to the embodiment is not limited to the ROSA, but may be a TOSA (Transmitter Optical Sub-Assembly) and, in this regard, the optical semiconductor device 113 is an LD (Laser Diode), i.e., semiconductor laser. Further, the control integrated circuit 112 is a driver IC. The semiconductor laser includes, but not limited to such a light-emitting element, and may be another light-emitting element. The light-emitting element photoelectrically converts an electric signal into an optical signal. Or, the optical subassembly 101 according to the embodiment may be a BOSA (Bidirectional Optical SubAssembly).
[0027] The base 111 is a sub-mount for use as a heatsink for heat dissipation of the heat generated by the control integrated circuit 112 and the optical semiconductor device 113 to the outside of the housing. For the purpose, as the material forming the base 111, a material having higher thermal conductivity is selected and, here, the material is CuW-10 (a composite material of 10% of copper and 90% of tungsten). That is, the base 111 is formed using the material having higher thermal conductivity and has lower thermal resistance. On the other hand, the enclosure 119 is a cover-type case, and the base 111 and the enclosure 119 are in contact with each other for external hermetical enclosure except a part. Heat dissipation is not required for the enclosure 119 and, here, the material forming the enclosure 119 is special use stainless steel (SUS). That is, the thermal conductivity of the material of the base 111 is higher than the thermal conductivity of the material of the enclosure 119. Thus, the thermal resistance of the base 111 is lower than the thermal resistance of the enclosure 119.
[0028] The base 111 has a plate shape containing a top surface, a bottom surface, a front surface, side surfaces at both sides (two side surfaces), and a back surface. The front surface and the side surfaces at both sides of the base 111 and the inner walls of the enclosure 119 are secured in contact via adhesives. The base 111 and the enclosure 119 are sufficiently secured with at least three surfaces in contact by the adhesives, and thereby, axis misalignment after optical axis adjustment may be prevented.
[0032] The method of manufacturing the optical subassembly 101 according to the embodiment is as follows. First, all of the above described components are prepared. Second, the plurality of components are mounted on the base 111. Here, the plurality of components include the control integrated circuit 112, the optical semiconductor device 113, the lens 114, and the printed circuit board 115. The lens 114 is placed while the optical semiconductor device 113 is driven and active alignment is performed so that the lens may be fixed in the optimal position. Third, the optical semiconductor device 113 and the control integrated circuit 112, the control integrated circuit 112 and the printed circuit board 115 are connected via the wires 116A, 116B, respectively. Fourth, the base 111 with the plurality of components mounted thereon and the enclosure 119 are secured by the adhesives. Fifth, when the optical semiconductor device 113 is a light-receiving element, a light-emitting element (some light source) is connected to an external optical fiber, the light-emitting element is driven, the optical axis alignment of the receptacle terminal 118 is performed so that the sensitivity of reception by the optical semiconductor device 113 may be maximum (or a sufficiently high value), and then, they are fused and fixed by YAG welding. The optical axis from the optical semiconductor device 113 to the lens 114 is fixed on the base 111 as described above. The optical axis to the base 111 and the window 117 of the enclosure 119 is fixed by bonding of the base 111 and the enclosure 119. In this case, the base 111 and the enclosure 119 are bonded in a wider area, and axis misalignment after optical axis fixation is less likely. Then, the window 117 and the receptacle terminal 118 are secured by fusion. They can be secured by an adhesive, however, the securement area is smaller and the optical axis may be out of alignment due to changes with age of the adhesive. Accordingly, securement with fusion with smaller changes with age is preferable. In the embodiment, SUS is used for the materials of the enclosure 119 and the receptacle terminal 118 for fusion. In the case of formation using CuW better in heat dissipation like the base 111 in place of SUS, fusion is impossible. On the other hand, when SUS is used for the base 111, heat dissipation is not sufficient to be able to solve the problem of the invention. Therefore, in the embodiment, CuW is used with an emphasis on heat dissipation for the base 111 and SUS is used with an emphasis on fusion (prevention of optical axis misalignment) above heat dissipation for the receptacle terminal 118.
Consequently, in light of Komatsu’s disclosure of flat surface adhesive bonding, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Dress’ embodiments to disclose an optical module comprising: a base including a flat surface; a semiconductor light emitter and a semiconductor light receiver arranged in such a manner as to face each other on the flat surface of the base, the semiconductor light emitter and the semiconductor light receiver each including a plurality of parallel optical axes, the semiconductor light emitter being to emit light to the plurality of optical axes, the semiconductor light receiver being to receive the light emitted from the semiconductor light emitter to the plurality of optical axes; and a lens array disposed on the flat surface of the base between the semiconductor light emitter and the semiconductor light receiver, the lens array including a plurality of lens elements arranged in parallel, the plurality of lens elements corresponding to the respective plurality of optical axes of each of the semiconductor light emitter and the semiconductor light receiver; the plurality of lens elements optically coupling the semiconductor light emitter to the semiconductor light receiver; Dress, figures 18 and 19, and related figures and text, for example, Dress – Selected Text; Komatsu, figure 2, and related figures and text, for example, Komatsu – Selected Text; because the resulting configuration would facilitate predictably controlling thermal dissipation. Komatsu, abstract.
Further regarding claim 1, Tsunoda discloses in figures 6 and 7, and related figures and text, for example, Tsunoda – Selected Text, embodiments of arrays of optical lenses 11 coupled to holding structures 16b such that when flat-surfaced protrusions directed downward from 16b are coupled to flat top surfaces of lower structure 16a, a cavity is formed between 16a and 16b such that adhesives 17 in the cavity bond the upper array of lenses 11/16b to the lower structure 16a. Tsunoda, figures 6 and 7, and related figures and text, for example, Tsunoda – Selected Text.
Tsunoda – Figures 6 and 7
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Abstract. A projecting device is disclosed which has plural element lens systems arranged in at least two rows in a staggered fashion in two grooved blocks, with one row displaced relative to the adjacent row by a distance equal to half the pitch of the adjacent row. Each lens system is composed of at least one bar lens for imaging a part of the object as a part of the corresponding image. An opaque elastomer material fills the space between the rows for preventing light from entering into the space while allowing the positional relation between the rows to be fine-adjusted.
Column 12, lines 13-41. FIG. 7 shows a view seen from the entrance end in which grooved blocks 16a, 16b having U-shaped grooves are combined to support two rows of element lens systems in a staggered fashion. The space between the element lens systems is filled with an opaque elastomer material 17 for example silicone resin commercially available as corking material. Also there may be employed polyvinyl acetate or an elastic epoxy resin. The bar lenses are precisely fixed in advance with an adhesive material along the grooves of said grooved blocks. The elastomer material, not being completely solidified but leaving certain compliance, permits suppression of shock to the bar lenses at the time of minute adjustment of the grooved blocks 16a, 16b. Such compliance of the elastomer material between the element lens systems is also desirable for absorbing thermal expansion or contraction of the grooved blocks. Said elastomer material is extended in an oblong manner along the periphery of plural first bar lenses 11 at the entrance side in such a manner that the effective light beam is not obstructed when the grooved blocks 16a, 16b are mutually combined. Naturally said elastomer material may be provided along the plural second bar lenses at the exit side. After said elastomer material is extended, the grooved blocks 16a, 16b are mutually combined. In the foregoing there has been explained the use of grooved blocks with U-shaped grooves, but practically acceptable light shielding is also possible in case of blocks provided with V-shaped grooves.
Consequently, in light of Tsunoda’s disclosure of downward protruding flat surfaces defining adhesive-filled cavities, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Dress in view of Komatsu’ embodiments to disclose that on a surface which belongs to the lens array and which faces the flat surface of the base, a plurality of adhesive surfaces located side by side in a direction in which the plurality of lens elements is arranged in parallel, and includes an interference suppression portion for an adhesive between adjacent adhesive surfaces among the plurality of adhesive surfaces, and a plurality of adhesive layers is provided which glues the respective plurality of adhesive surfaces of the lens array to the flat surface of the base and thereby fixes the lens array to the flat surface of the base; Dress, figures 18 and 19, and related figures and text, for example, Dress – Selected Text; Komatsu, figure 2, and related figures and text, for example, Komatsu – Selected Text; Tsunoda, figures 6 and 7, and related figures and text, for example, Tsunoda – Selected Text; because the resulting micropatterned configuration would facilitate predictably controlling thermal dissipation; Komatsu, abstract; while facilitating efficient bonding. van Assenbergh, 1. Introduction, 1.1 Patterned Adhesives (“[A]dhesives are typically patterned with repetitive microscale elements such as pillars, spatulas, or mushrooms….When attaching to hard substrates, such surface (micro)patterns are associated with high adaptability to the substrate roughness and low effective elasticity of the adhesive, leading to better contact formation than unpatterned adhesives….Additionally, surface micropatterns allow for a more uniform stress distribution than unpatterned adhesives, which contributes to better preservation of the formed contact.… Furthermore, the contact of surface micropatterns with the substrate is split up into multiple contact points. When locally a contact point detaches, the stress is globally rebalanced over the remaining contact points, inhibiting the propagation of the defect….Additionally, contact split-up in f
Regarding dependent claims 2-6, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Dress in view of Komatsu, further in view of Tsunoda, and further in view of van Assenbergh's embodiments, as applied in the rejection of claim 1, to disclose:
2. The optical module according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of optical axes of each of the semiconductor light emitter and the semiconductor light receiver is located on a plane parallel to the flat surface of the base. Dress, figures 18 and 19, and related figures and text, for example, Dress – Selected Text; Komatsu, figure 2, and related figures and text, for example, Komatsu – Selected Text; Tsunoda, figures 6 and 7, and related figures and text, for example, Tsunoda – Selected Text.
3. The optical module according to claim 1, wherein the interference suppression portion of the lens array is a protrusion protruded toward the flat surface of the base with respect to the plurality of adhesive surfaces. Dress, figures 18 and 19, and related figures and text, for example, Dress – Selected Text; Komatsu, figure 2, and related figures and text, for example, Komatsu – Selected Text; Tsunoda, figures 6 and 7, and related figures and text, for example, Tsunoda – Selected Text.
4. The optical module according to claim 3, wherein the protrusion includes a joining flat surface in contact with the flat surface of the base. Dress, figures 18 and 19, and related figures and text, for example, Dress – Selected Text; Komatsu, figure 2, and related figures and text, for example, Komatsu – Selected Text; Tsunoda, figures 6 and 7, and related figures and text, for example, Tsunoda – Selected Text.
5. The optical module according to claim 1, wherein each of the adhesive surfaces of the lens array is a corresponding one of surfaces which belong to respective protrusions and which face the flat surface of the base, the protrusions being protruded toward the flat surface of the base with respect to the surface which belongs to the lens array and which faces the flat surface of the base, and the interference suppression portion of the lens array is a space located between adjacent two of the protrusions. Dress, figures 18 and 19, and related figures and text, for example, Dress – Selected Text; Komatsu, figure 2, and related figures and text, for example, Komatsu – Selected Text; Tsunoda, figures 6 and 7, and related figures and text, for example, Tsunoda – Selected Text.
6. The optical module according to claim 5, wherein each of the surfaces which belong to the respective protrusions and which face the flat surface of the base is a surface recessed inward. Dress, figures 18 and 19, and related figures and text, for example, Dress – Selected Text; Komatsu, figure 2, and related figures and text, for example, Komatsu – Selected Text; Tsunoda, figures 6 and 7, and related figures and text, for example, Tsunoda – Selected Text.
because the resulting micropatterned adhesive configurations would facilitate predictably controlling thermal dissipation; Komatsu, abstract; while facilitating efficient bonding. van Assenbergh, 1. Introduction, 1.1 Patterned Adhesives.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PETER RADKOWSKI whose telephone number is (571)270-1613. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 9-5.
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/PETER RADKOWSKI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2874