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 Group II, claims 9-20, in the reply filed on March 9, 2026 is acknowledged.
Applicant is reminded that upon the cancelation of claims to a non-elected invention, the inventorship must be corrected in compliance with 37 CFR 1.48(a) if one or more of the currently named inventors is no longer an inventor of at least one claim remaining in the application. A request to correct inventorship under 37 CFR 1.48(a) must be accompanied by an application data sheet in accordance with 37 CFR 1.76 that identifies each inventor by his or her legal name and by the processing fee required under 37 CFR 1.17(i).
Claims 1-8 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on March 9, 2026.
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 9 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Yariv (US Patent No. 5,832,148).
Regarding claim 9, Yariv teaches an article of manufacture comprising: a first waveguide portion (input waveguide 100 or waveguide 206); a first set of index-modifying elements located in proximity to the first waveguide portion (switch 102 as example), each configured to modify an index of refraction of the first waveguide portion based on a respective electrical signal (optical switch 102 operates to direct each signal embedded in the wavelength-multiplexed signal to an output waveguide leading to a desired destination); an electrical power source (switch electrically controlled by external electrical signals) configured to supply one or more electrical signals; a first set of modifiable electrical elements, each configured to be modifiable at least once between a conductive configuration that conducts electricity and a nonconductive configuration that does not conduct electricity, and each electrically connected to the electrical power source and to one or more respective index-modifying elements in the first set of index-modifying elements; a closed electrical path, where electrical current flows from the electrical power source and through (1) a first modifiable electrical element in the first set of modifiable electrical elements that is configured to be in a conductive configuration, and (2) a first index-modifying element in the first set of index-modifying elements; and an open electrical path, where no electrical current flows through (1) a second modifiable electrical element in the first set of modifiable electrical elements that is configured to be in a nonconductive configuration, and (2) a second index- modifying element in the first set of index-modifying elements when it is taught that the electrically-controlled gratings, such as 207, 208, and 209, are preferably integrated in the waveguide 206. Each grating includes an electrical interface to connect to a control circuit 250 for receiving an electrical control signal for that grating. An optical medium in which the waveguide 206 is formed preferably has an index of refraction that changes with the applied electrical signal. Importantly, each grating produces a periodic change in the index of refraction with a predetermined spatial period in a direction along the optic axis of the waveguide when an electrical signal is applied. The periodic index change becomes zero if no electrical signal is present at the electrical interface. Thus, each grating is an electrically-controlled index grating modulator. In particular, the grating is latent in such a way that the grating is activated only if the external electrical field is applied. Further regarding claim 13, Yariv teaches The article of manufacture of claim 9, further comprising a second waveguide portion; a second set of index-modifying elements located in proximity to the second waveguide portion, each configured to modify an index of refraction of the second waveguide portion based on a respective electrical signal; and a second set of modifiable electrical elements, each configured to be modifiable at least once between a conductive configuration that conducts electricity and a nonconductive configuration that does not conduct electricity, and each electrically connected to the electrical power source and to one or more respective index-modifying elements in the second set of index-modifying elements (see Figures 1-2, col 4 line 25 to col 5 line 15, col 6 line 55 to col 7 line 3, claim 1).
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.
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 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yariv in view of Meng et al. (US Patent No. 11,686,955, from hereinafter “Meng”).
Regarding claim 14, Yariv fails to specifically teach where the first waveguide portion and the second waveguide portion form a portion of (1) a Mach-Zehnder interferometer, (2) a Michelson interferometer, (3) a multi-mode interferometer, (4) an interferometer comprising three or more optical paths, or (5) an NxM coupler comprising N input ports and M output ports.
Meng teaches an optoelectronic computing platform in the same field of endeavor that teaches that in some implementations, the conversion between electrical signals and optical signals for use of the optical channels takes place at bidirectional transceivers within the photonic layer of the OIIC 104. For example, for electrical-to-optical conversion, a bidirectional transceiver can include an optical modulator (e.g., a Mach-Zehnder Interferometer) that receives an electronic signal (e.g., a voltage signal) for use to control the amplitude modulation of an optical wave provided by an optical source to generate a modulated optical wave. The optical source can be a laser that is integrated into the platform 100, or a port of an edge coupler or a surface grating coupler that receives an optical wave from an optical fiber coupled to an external laser, for example. For optical-to-electrical conversion, the bidirectional transceiver can include a photodetector that converts an optical power of an optical wave to a generated electrical current signal. That electrical current signal can then be converted to an electrical voltage signal within the computing node (e.g., using a transimpedance amplifier). The electrical signals are able to be transmitted to and from metal contacts at the surface of the OIIC 104 by through-silicon vias (TSVs), for example (see Figures 1-2, col 14 line 64 to col 15 line 18).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to employ a Mach-Zehnder arrangement for efficient and well-known operation of these waveguide and optical devices.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 10-12 and 15-20 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The best prior art of record fails to specifically teach the further configuration such as in claim 12, wherein each index-modifying element in the first set of index-modifying elements is located in proximity to a respective sub- portion of the first waveguide portion and modifies a respective index of refraction of the respective sub-portion of the first waveguide portion.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: US Patent No. 7,471,859 to Levner et al.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LISA M CAPUTO whose telephone number is (571)272-2388. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9-5 EST.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, 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, 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.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: 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.
/LISA M CAPUTO/Primary Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2874
Prosecution Insights