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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The prior art documents submitted by applicant in the Information Disclosure Statements filed on 9/28/2024, 11/3/2024, 11/12/2024, 2/20/2025, and 8/25/2025 have all been considered and made of record (note the attached copies) of form PTO-1449).
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because the representation of molecular forms in amorphous state and crystalline state of the phase-change material, as shown in Fig. 5, is blurry. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Inventorship
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.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of invention I in the reply filed on March 13, 2025 is acknowledged. Claims 1-16 and 21-24 are under consideration. The examiner notes the method claims 11-16 have been rejoined and they are not patentably distinct from the product claims since the steps of forming are not distinct from the assembled product. Therefore, the method claims are rejected along side with the product claims.
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.
Claims 7-10 are 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.
Claim 7—the light modulator comprises plurality of light modulators arranged in an array along the waveguide—a plurality can be two or more modulators.
Claim 8—wherein a first group of the plurality of light modulators… and a second group of the plurality of light modulators—a group must be more than two.
Thus, the recitation “a first group of the plurality of light modulators” is unclear and potentially be untrue since the first group the plurality of light modulators can be a group of one light modulator. The deficiency also applies to the recitation “a second group of the plurality of light modulators.”
Claims 9-10 are also rejected since they carry the same deficiencies.
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, 4, 11, 12, 14, 21, and 24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Shank et al. (US 10,509,244 B1, herein “Shank”).
Regarding claims 1, 11, and 21 Shank discloses an optical device (10), comprising:
a waveguide comprising a rib portion with a top surface (12);
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a light modulator comprising a phase change material (36) and being in direct contact with an outer surface or top of the waveguide (12, Col. 4, lines 27-50);
a thermal conducting member (interconnect structure 38 which contains metallization composed of copper, tungsten, and/or cobalt, Col. 5, lines 5-25) disposed on the light modulating member; and
a heating member (thin film resistor 46) disposed on the thermal conducting member (38) and being distant away from the light modulator and the waveguide (interconnect structure 38 is between the heating member and the light modulator), wherein the heat produced from the heating member is transferred to the light modulator through the thermal conducting member thereby inducing a phase transition of the light modulator,
wherein the heating member (thin film resistor 46) is located higher than the outer surface of the waveguide at which the layer of phase-change material is formed (Col. 6, lines 26-34).
Claims 4 and 12. Shank discloses the thermal conducting member (38) may include one or more interlayer dielectric layers (Col. 5, lines 5-15) such as carbon-doped silicon oxide and silicon dioxide (Col. 5, lines 16-33).
Regarding claim 14, Shank discloses etching recesses (26, 28 in Figs. 2 and 3) on the layer of thermal conducting material (14) and a layer of phase-change material (36) to forma a plurality of light modulators each having a thermal conducting member atop (thin film resistors 46).
Regarding claim 24, Shank discloses a cladding layer (silicon dioxide, Col. 2, lines 34-51) formed adjacent to the rib portion of the waveguide, wherein the cladding layer has a refractive index smaller than that of the waveguide (single-crystal silicon, Col. 2, lines 34-51).
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.
Claims 2-3 and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shank in view of Clapp (US 6,424,755 B2, herein “Clapp”).
Shank discloses the invention of claim 1 and claim 21, and further discloses the heating member (thin film resistor 46) comprises: two electric contact segments (left and right ) positioned at two ends in a longitudinal axis of the heating member (46).
However, Shank does not discloses an intermediate segment connecting the two electric contact segments and being in contact with the thermal conducting member (being in contact with the thermal conducting member, wherein a width of the intermediate segment varies in a traverse direction that is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis.
Clapp teaches an optical waveguide phase adjuster wherein a Joule heater (34) is connected to heating strips (35) as shown in Fig. 3. The heating strips is considered as the two electric contact segments and the Joule heater (34) is the intermediate segment. Clapp further teaches the phase change per watt of the Joule heater is enhanced by the axial length of the heater is much shorter than the silica waveguide (Col. 4, lines 37-57).
Shank in view of Clapp do not explicitly teach the width of the intermediate segment varies in a traverse direction that is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis. Shank in view of Clapp also do not teach the two intermediate portions each connecting one end of the middle contacting portion of the electric contact segments wherein the width of the two intermediate portions is greater than the width of the middle contacting portion in the traverse direction.
Clapp teaches the general condition for enhancing the phase change per watt of the Joule heater and in accordance to Joule’s first law
H
=
I
2
R
t
; wherein H is heat, R is resistance, and t is time. Further, the resistance of a conductor follows the formula
R
=
ρ
L
A
, wherein the resistance is inversely proportional to the A; therefore, the narrower passage restricts the charge flow causing higher resistance. Accordingly, an increase in resistance would increase the heat capacity according to Joule’s first law.
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It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the invention to optimize the Joule heater dimension to adjust the heat capacity at the thermal conducting member to variably adjust the temperature of the thermal conducting member to adjust the refractive index of the waveguide, 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 (C.C.P.A. 1955).
The modification of Clapp to the modulator of Shank would necessarily result in the intermediate segment (Clapp: 34) being in contact with the thermal conducting member (Shank: 38) and two intermediate portions (Clapp: 35) each connecting one end of the middle contact portion to the electric contact segments. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the invention to optimize the two intermediate portions to be greater than a width of the middle contact portion in the traverse direction such that each intermediate portion can have greater response time and building greater current density to the narrow width of the middle portion, 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 (C.C.P.A. 1955).
Claims 5-6, and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shank in view of Shafiee et al. (IEEE Access, January 2023, herein “Shafiee”).
Shank discloses the invention of claim 1 the phase-change material is vanadium dioxide which is configured to be switched between an insulator phase to a metal phase with different optical properties. Vanadium oxide exhibits approximately a unity change in its index of refraction due to the phase change and a ten-fold increase in absorption (extinction coefficient) in its metal phase in comparison with its insulator phase (Col. 4, lines 27-50).
Shank does not explicitly teach the phase change material is configured to be switched between a disordered amorphous state and an ordered crystalline state.
Shafiee teaches phase-change material such as Ge2Sb2Te5 (germanium-antimony-tellurium, AKA “GST”). GST response to change in temperature (changing between amorphous and crystalline state), which can impose a change in its optical property such as the material’s refractive index and extinction coefficient via thermo-optic effect (Section B. THERMAL PROPERTIES).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to recognize phase-change material would be interchangeable and the selection of the particular phase-change material would be determined on the optical, thermal, and electrical properties of the design specifics of the optical device. One would be motivated to selected GST as the phase change material as it is a well-studied and widely available phase change material that is adaptable, reconfigurable, and programmable in photonic platforms.
Claims 7-10. 15-16, and 23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shank in view of Shin et al. (US 2023/0118658 A1, herein “Shin”).
Regarding claim 7, Shank discloses the invention of claim 1, but Shank is silent to the light modulator comprises a plurality of light modulators arranged in an array along the waveguide, and a respective thermal conducting member disposed on each of the light modulators.
Shin teaches a plurality of light modulators (“phase-change material 408 and being in direct contact with an outer surface of the waveguide 406”, as defined in claim 1) arranged in an array along the waveguide (Para [0056]).
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It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to recognize the applying phase change material in a periodic manner as shown in allows the waveguide and phase change material to function as a beam steering switch matrix platform. One would be motivated to form the phase change material in a periodic manner to take advantage of the technology versatility to transform the same base material to function and perform as different optical devices such as optical modulators and beam steering switch matrix..
Regarding claims 8 and 23, Shank in view of Shin teach the invention of claim 7 and claim 21, respectively. Shank in view of Shin further teach plurality of first reference lines and a plurality of second reference lines are defined on a plane at which the outer surface of the waveguide (406) locates and each extends perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the waveguide, the plurality of first reference lines are spaced apart from each other by a first pitch (width of the unit square), and the plurality of second reference lines are spaced apart from each other by a second pitch (width of the unit square), wherein a first group of the plurality of light modulators (phase change material 408, Para [0056]) are arranged along the first reference lines, and a second group of the plurality of light modulators (408) are arranged along the second reference lines. The examiner considers the first and second reference lines are implied since the grid layout of Shin’s matrix have been predetermined prior depositing the matrix onto the substrate. Shank further teaches lithography and etching as a manufacturing method of for forming various layers and components (See at least Col. 4, lines 26-50). Therefore, the first and second reference lines would have been predetermined for depositing, patterning with lithography, and etching to remove the unwanted material (e.g., excess metallic material) and leaving behind the grid format of the conductors, for example.
Regarding claim 9, Shank in view of Shin teach the invention of claim 8, but Shank in view of Shin do not teach the first pitch is different from the second pitch. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the invention to optimize the first and second pitch to efficiently arrange the modulator to design specific parameters, 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 (C.C.P.A. 1955).
Regarding claim 10. Shank in view of Shin teach the invention of claim 8 and further teach two heating members (vertical and horizontal wires label as 314 and also understood to be the grid lines in Fig. 4), a first one of the heating members is connected to the first group of the plurality of light modulators (all the phase change material 408 on the vertical wire) and the other one of the heating members is connected to the second group of the plurality of light modulators (all the phase change material 408 on the horizontal wire), wherein the two heating members are controlled independently to change the temperature of the first group and the second group of the plurality of light modulators (control switches 412a, 412b).
Regarding claims 15-16, Shank discloses the invention of claim 14, and further discloses forming a heating member (contact members 40, 42) on the thermal conducting member comprises forming two heating members (thin film resistors 46) after etching the recess. The method further comprising forming a cladding (silicon dioxide, Col. 2, lines 34-51) which has a refractive index smaller than the refractive index of a single-crystal silicon (Col. 2, lines 34-51).
However, Shank does not teach the two heating members connects to a group of light modulators.
Shin teaches the two heating members (horizontal electrode and vertical electrode forming a grid; the electrodes are controlled by control switches 412a, 42b) connects to a group of light modulators (phase-change materials on waveguides).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to recognize the applying phase change material in a periodic manner as shown in allows the waveguide and phase change material to function as a beam steering switch matrix platform. One would be motivated to form the phase change material in a periodic manner to take advantage of the technology versatility to transform the same base material to function and perform as different optical devices such as optical modulators and beam steering switch matrix.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Erin D Chiem whose telephone number is (571)272-3102. The examiner can normally be reached 10 am - 6 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Thomas A. Hollweg can be reached at (571) 270-1739. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ERIN D CHIEM/Examiner, Art Unit 2874
/THOMAS A HOLLWEG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2874
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