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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on September 13, 2023, and March 7, 2025 were in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
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 8-11 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claim 8 partially recites "at least one trench in at least the conductive layer" in lines 2-3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. The claim has not been substantially examined over the prior art because the Examiner is unable to determine the scope and meaning of “the conductive layer” as the term “a conductive layer” or “conductive layer” or “the conductive layer” does not appear elsewhere in this claim or parent claim 1. Furthermore, claim 8 partially recites the term “the trench” There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 11 inherits the 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112, 2nd paragraph (pre-AIA ) rejection based on its dependency on claim 8.
Claim 9 partially recites "at least one trench in at least the conductive layer" in lines 2-3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. The claim has not been substantially examined over the prior art because the Examiner is unable to determine the scope and meaning of “the conductive layer” as the term “a conductive layer” or “conductive layer” or “the conductive layer” does not appear elsewhere in this claim or parent claim 1.
Claim 10 inherits the 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112, 2nd paragraph (pre-AIA ) rejection based on its dependency on claim 9.
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 1-2, 7, 12-14 and 16-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Cubaynes et al. (“Highly coherent spin states in carbon nanotubes coupled to cavity photons” -2019).
Regarding Claim 1, Cubaynes et al. discloses a quantum component, comprising: a substrate (Page 4 – ‘Methods’ section; Fig 1 – talks about a chip comprising a
cavity, bottom gates, and non-collinear ferromagnetic contacts; this implies presence of a substrate on which all these above-mentioned components are formed); at least two suspension electrodes including a source electrode connected to an electron source and a drain electrode connected to a reference potential (Page 4; Fig 1 – two ferromagnetic electrodes are shown in Fig. 1c – one on the left and one on the right; the one on the left which is biased with a voltage VSD could be considered as the source electrode and the one on the right side could be considered as the drain electrode; electrons move through the nanotube entering at the source electrode and exiting at the drain electrode; this implies that the source electrode is connected to an electron source and a drain electrode connected to a reference potential; these electrodes are formed on a pedestal structure); at least one gate electrode arranged between the two suspension electrodes, the two suspension electrodes being raised relative to the at least one gate electrode (Page 4; Fig 1 – two ferromagnetic electrodes are shown in Fig. 1c – plurality of bottom gates are shown in Fig. 1c running parallel to each other and between the source electrode and the drain electrode); at least one nano-object element suspended between the two suspension electrodes, and electrically connected thereto, the at least one nano-object element being placed above the at least one gate electrode, the nano-object element comprising at least two quantum dots (Page 4; Fig 1 –a thin carbon nanotube could be seen in Fig. 1c suspended between the source electrode and the drain electrode; the nanotube comprises two quantum dots); at least one microwave gate electrode connected to a microwave circuit arranged to carry a microwave signal (Page 4 – ‘Methods’ section; Fig 1 – Fig. 1c shows a gate which is wider than the other bottom gates; this gate corresponds to the microwave gate electrode of the present application; this gate is galvanically coupled to the central conductor of the Nb microwave cavity (microwave circuit); the cavity carries microwave signals); and at least one magnetic electrode comprising a magnetic material arranged and configured to apply an inhomogeneous magnetic field to the nano-object element over a spatial extent of the nano-object element (Pages 1-4 – ‘Introduction’ and ‘Methods’ section; Fig 1 – ferromagnetic contacts shown in Fig. 1c are magnetic electrodes comprising NiPd; they apply inhomogeneous magnetic field to the carbon tube (two noncollinear Zeeman fields on each quantum dots ).
Regarding Claim 2, Cubaynes et al., as applied to claim 1, discloses
the quantum component, wherein the magnetic material is a ferromagnetic material (Page 4 – ‘Methods’ section).
Regarding Claim 7, Cubaynes et al., as applied to claim 1, discloses
the quantum component, further comprising at least one conductive layer arranged on the substrate and under the at least one gate electrode, each gate electrode being separated from the conductive layer by an insulating layer (Page 4 – ‘Methods’ section – conductor of the cavity is formed of niobium Nb; this conductive layer is under the gates; bottom gates are implied to be separated from the conductor layer of the cavity) .
Regarding Claim 12, Cubaynes et al., as applied to claim 1, discloses
the quantum component, wherein the at least one nano-object element is at least one nanotube or at least one nanowire (Page 4 – ‘Methods’ section –carbon nanotube).
Regarding Claim 13, Cubaynes et al., as applied to claim 1, discloses
the quantum component, wherein the at least one nano-object element comprises an isotopically purified or enriched material (Page 4 – abstract & ‘Discussion’ section – this prior art teaches that the carbon nanotube was grown with 1.1% of 13C; the authors predicted that the device would be even better with isotopically purified or enriched material).
Regarding Claim 14, Cubaynes et al., as applied to claim 1, discloses
the quantum component, wherein the at least one magnetic electrode is arranged and configured to create a polarization of the spin of an electron which is non-collinear between two quantum dots formed in the nano-object element (Pages 1-4 – abstract, ‘Introduction’ & ‘Result’ section).
Regarding Claim 16, Cubaynes et al., as applied to claim 1, discloses
the quantum component, wherein the at least one microwave gate electrode further comprises means for controlling the quantum component, the at least one microwave gate electrode being connected to a microwave circuit arranged to carry a microwave signal (Page 4 – ‘Methods’ section; Fig 1 – Fig. 1c shows a gate which is wider than the other bottom gates; this gate corresponds to the microwave gate electrode of the present application; this gate is galvanically coupled to the central conductor of the Nb microwave cavity (microwave circuit); the cavity carries microwave signals).
Regarding Claim 17, Cubaynes et al., as applied to claim 1, discloses
the quantum component, wherein the at least one microwave gate electrode further comprises means for coupling a plurality of quantum components, the at least one microwave gate electrode being connected to a microwave circuit arranged to carry a coupling microwave signal (Page 4 – ‘Methods’ section; Fig 1 – Fig. 1c shows a gate which is wider than the other bottom gates; this gate corresponds to the microwave gate electrode of the present application; this gate is galvanically coupled to the central conductor of the Nb microwave cavity (microwave circuit); the cavity carries microwave signals).
Regarding Claim 18, Cubaynes et al., as applied to claim 1, discloses
an electronic device comprising at least one quantum component according to claim 1 (Pages 1-4 – abstract, ‘Introduction’ - implied).
Regarding Claim 19, Cubaynes et al. discloses a method for controlling a quantum component, comprising: defining, using one or more nano-object elements, at least two quantum states in at least one nano-object, the at least two quantum states being in an inhomogeneous magnetic fields (Pages 1-4 – nano-object element comprising carbon nanotube-based double quantum dot; two non-collinear Zeeman fields originating from zig-zag shaped ferromagnetic contacts; this field varies spatially between the dots); and causing, on the basis of a microwave oscillating electrical signal carried by a microwave gate electrode, back-and-forth movement of an electron between the at least two quantum states in the presence of the inhomogeneous magnetic field, the movement of the electron generating an oscillation of the magnetic field to drive a quantum transition between a spin state oriented in one direction and a spin state oriented in an opposite direction of the electron, thus implementing a qubit gate on a spin state of the electron (Pages 1-4).
Regarding Claim 20, Cubaynes et al., as applied to claim 2, discloses
the quantum component, wherein the ferromagnetic material, comprises cobalt or palladium-nickel (Page 4 – ‘Methods’ section - NiPd).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-6 and 15 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
1. Ilani et al. (Pub. No.: US 2019/0018041 A1) – This prior art teaches a quantum component, comprising: a substrate (35); at least two suspension electrodes including a source electrode (42) connected to an electron source and a drain electrode (44) connected to a reference potential; at least one gate electrode (60) arranged between the two suspension electrodes (42 & 44), the two suspension electrodes (42 & 44) being raised relative to the at least one gate electrode (60); at least one nano-object element (50) suspended between the two suspension electrodes (42 & 44), and electrically connected thereto, the at least one nano-object element being placed above the at least one gate electrode, the nano-object element comprising at least two quantum dots (Par. 0018; 00130-0133; Fig. 1).
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02/15/2026
/SYED I GHEYAS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2893
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