DETAILED ACTION
This is the first office action on the merits. Claims 1-20 are currently pending.
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 .
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.
(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 1-2, 5-6, and 11-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Deore et al., US 20110235164 A1 (“Deore”).
Regarding claim 1, Deore discloses a hybrid optical amplifier comprising:
an erbium doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) that includes a plurality of EDFA stages (Fig. 1, EDFAs 108, 110, and 114, Paragraph [0015]); and
a Raman amplifier inserted between two EDFA stages of the plurality of EDFA stages (Fig. 1, Raman amplifier 112, Paragraph [0015]).
Regarding claim 2, Deore discloses the hybrid optical amplifier of claim 1, wherein the Raman amplifier is inserted between an initial EDFA stage of the plurality of EDFA stages and a next EDFA stage of the plurality of EDFA stages that is directly after the initial EDFA stage (Fig. 1, Raman amplifier 112 between EDFAs 110 and 114, Paragraph [0015]).
Regarding claim 5, Deore discloses the hybrid optical amplifier of claim 1, wherein a last EDFA stage of the plurality of EDFA stages includes a first pump source operating at a first pumping wavelength different from a second pumping wavelength corresponding to second pump sources respectively corresponding to the other EDFA stages of the plurality of EDFA stages (Fig. 2b, EDFA 114, pump lasers P4 and P5, Paragraph [0019]).
Regarding claim 6, Deore discloses the hybrid optical amplifier of claim 5, wherein the first pumping wavelength corresponds to a better noise profile than the second pumping wavelength (Fig. 2b, pump lasers P4 may have a wavelength substantially equal to 980 nm, Paragraph [0019]) and the second pumping wavelength corresponds to a better gain profile than the first pumping wavelength (Fig. 2b, EDFA 114, pump lasers P5 may have a wavelength substantially equal to 1480 nm, Paragraph [0019]).
Claims 11 – 12 are method claims corresponding to apparatus claims 1-2 and are rejected for the same reasons.
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.
The factual inquiries 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.
Claim 3-4 and 13-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Deore in view of Akasaka et al., US 20110141553 A1 (“Akasaka”).
Regarding claim 3, Deore discloses the hybrid optical amplifier of claim 1.
Deore does not teach: wherein the Raman amplifier includes a first Raman stage configured to correspond to a first polarization and a second Raman stage configured to correspond to a second polarization.
However, Akasaka teaches a Raman amplifier in an optical repeater where a Raman amplifier is placed between two EDFAs (Fig. 8, Paragraph [0138]). The Raman amplifier may be configured to have multiple stages, for example two stages, with each stage having a different characteristic (Fig. 40, Raman amplifiers 9, Paragraph [0133]). Akasaka also teaches that a Raman amplifier has a polarization dependency of gain and amplifies only a component coincided with the polarized wave of the pumping light (Paragraph [0009]).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the Deore’s Raman amplifier by adding two Raman amplification stages that amplify different signal properties, such as signal polarization, which is disclosed by Akasaka. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to achieve a signal or noise property which could not be achieved with a single Raman amplifier, as suggested by Akasaka (Paragraph [0133]).
Regarding claim 4, Deore, as modified in view of Akasaka, discloses the hybrid optical amplifier of claim 3, wherein the first Raman stage includes a first pump source and the second Raman stage includes a second pump source operating at a different pumping wavelength than the first pump source (Akasaka, Fig. 40, Raman amplifiers 9, Paragraph [0133]: each stage having a different characteristic can include different pumping wavelengths; See also Fig. 53, where some pump light sources can be not used in order to tune gain characteristics).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the Deore’s Raman amplifier by adding two Raman amplification stages that amplify different signal properties, such as modifying pump sources to tune the gain, which is disclosed by Akasaka. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to achieve a signal or noise property which could not be achieved with a single Raman amplifier, as suggested by Akasaka (Paragraph [0133]).
Claims 13-14 are method claims corresponding to apparatus claims 3-4 and are rejected for the same reasons.
Claims 7-10 and 17-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Deore in view of Muro et al., US 20030063850 A1 (“Muro”).
Regarding claim 7, Deore discloses the hybrid optical amplifier of claim 1.
Deore does not teach:
a demultiplexer configured to separate first optical signals corresponding to a first wavelength range from second optical signals corresponding to a second wavelength range;
a first optical path optically coupled to the demultiplexer that bypasses the Raman amplifier and that is configured to receive the first optical signals;
a second optical path optically coupled to the demultiplexer that includes the Raman amplifier and that is configured to receive the second sub-signals and amplify the second optical signals via the Raman amplifier; and
a multiplexer disposed after the Raman amplifier and optically coupled to the first optical path and the second optical path, the multiplexer being configured to recombine the first optical signals and the second optical signals after amplification of the second optical signals by the Raman amplifier.
However, Muro teaches an optical repeater between an optical transmitter and an optical receiver that includes
a demultiplexer that separates the signal light into an optical signal corresponding to a first and second wavelength (Fig. 13, demultiplexer 58, s-band, c-band, l-band, Paragraph [0083]);
a first optical path coupled to the demultiplexer that bypasses the Raman amplifier and is configured to receive the first optical signals (Fig. 13, c-band optical amplifier, Paragraph [0045], [0083]).
a first optical path coupled to the demultiplexer that includes the Raman amplifier that is configured to receive the second sub-signals and amplify the second optical signals via the Raman amplifier (Fig. 13, S-band optical amplifier, Paragraph [0083]; Fig. 14, DCFRA, Paragraph [0086]).
a multiplexer disposed after the Raman amplifier that is coupled to the first and second path that recombines the first and second optical signals (Fig. 13, multiplexer 60, Paragraph [0060]).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Deore’s optical amplifier system by adding a demultiplexer and a multiplexer to individually amplify the S and C-bands, which is disclosed by Muro. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to “[improve] the amplification efficiency and noise characteristics”, as suggested by Muro (Paragraph [0017]).
Regarding claim 8, Deore, as modified in view of Muro, discloses the hybrid optical amplifier of claim 7, wherein the first wavelength range includes one or more of a C-band of optical communications or an L-band of optical communications (Muro, Fig. 13, c-band optical amplifier, Paragraph [0045], [0083]).
Regarding claim 9, Deore, as modified in view of Muro, teaches the hybrid optical amplifier of claim 7, wherein the second wavelength range includes an S-band of optical communications (Muro, Fig. 13, S-band optical amplifier, Paragraph [0083]).
Regarding claim 10, Deore discloses the hybrid optical amplifier of claim 1.
Deore does not teach: wherein one or more of the EDFA stages respectively include a filter configured to filter out optical signals corresponding to a wavelength range that includes one or more of a C-band of optical communications or an L-band of optical communications.
However, Muro teaches one or more EDFA stages that include a filter that is configured to filter out noise generated in the C-band of optical communications (Fig. 14, ASE suppressing filters, Paragraph [0087]).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Deore’s optical amplifier system by adding a filters between EDFA stages to filter out noise in the C-band, which is disclosed by Muro. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to “[improve] the amplification efficiency and noise characteristics”, as suggested by Muro (Paragraph [0017]).
Claims 17-20 are method claims corresponding to apparatus claims 7-10 and are rejected for the same reasons.
Claims 15-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Deore in view of Onaka et al., US 20080291529 A1 (“Onaka”).
Regarding claim 15, Deore discloses the method of claim 11.
Deore does not teach: further comprising amplifying the optical signal using a third EDFA stage of the EDFA after amplification of the optical signal using the second EDFA stage.
However, Onaka teaches additional EDFAs stage after the EDFA stage following the Raman amplifier (Fig. 36, EDFAs 81 and 82; See also Paragraph [0172])
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Deore’s amplifier by adding an additional EDFA stage after the Raman amplifier, which is disclosed by Onaka. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to improve the optical SNR, as suggested by Onaka (Paragraph [0208]).
Regarding claim 16, Deore, as modified in view of Onaka, discloses the method of claim 15, wherein:
the first EDFA stage includes a first pump source operating at a first pumping wavelength (Deore, Fig. 2a-b, EDFA 110, pump lasers P4 and P5, Paragraph [0019], See also: Paragraph [0026]);
Deore does not teach: the second EDFA stage includes a second pump source operating at a second pumping wavelength that is the same as the first pumping wavelength; and
the third EDFA stage includes a third pump source operating at a third pumping wavelength different from the first pumping wavelength and the second pumping wavelength.
However, Onaka teaches the second EDFA stage having pump light wavelengths of 1.43 μm and 1.48 μm and the third EDFA stage having pump light wavelengths of 1.48 μm.
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Deore’s amplifier by adding an additional EDFA stage after the Raman amplifier with different pump wavelengths, which is disclosed by Onaka. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to improve the optical SNR, as suggested by Onaka (Paragraph [0208]).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Oh et al., US 20030161030 A1 discloses an amplifier with two Raman stages between two EDFA stages. Each EDFA stage is pumped with a different wavelength beam.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RACHEL N NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)270-5405. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8 am - 5:30 pm ET.
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, Yuqing Xiao can be reached at (571) 270-3603. 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.
/RACHEL NGUYEN/Examiner, Art Unit 3645
/YUQING XIAO/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3645
Prosecution Insights