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 .
Detailed Action.
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group II in response/amendment is acknowledged. The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Detailed Action.
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group II in response/amendment is acknowledged. The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Newly submitted claims 21-28 directed to including to a method of forming a photonic interconnect die, comprising: forming a cladding portion on a substrate; forming a dielectric waveguide embedded within the cladding portion; forming a first angled trench and a second angled trench in the cladding portion; depositing a dielectric material layer over the cladding portion to fill the first angled trench and the second angled trench; and planarizing the dielectric material layer to form a first dielectric window and a second dielectric window, wherein angled surfaces of the first and second angled trenches form a first photonic coupler and a second photonic coupler, respectively, at a first and second end of the dielectric waveguide, wherein the first and second photonic couplers are each configured as angled reflectors; wherein the first dielectric window is located at a first position on a first surface of the photonic interconnect die and the second dielectric window is located at a second position on the first surface of the photonic interconnect die
And
Newly submitted claims 29-36 (claim 17 being generic) directed to including A method of forming a photonic interconnect die, comprising: forming a cladding material layer over a substrate, wherein the cladding material layer comprises a photosensitive polymer material; performing a laser-writing operation on the cladding material layer to form a waveguide core portion, wherein the laser-writing operation alters a microstructure of the photosensitive polymer material in a localized region to increase a refractive index of the localized region such that the localized region serves as the waveguide core portion and a surrounding un-irradiated portion of the cladding material layer serves as a waveguide cladding portion; forming a first photonic coupler at a first end of the waveguide core portion; and forming a second photonic coupler at a second end of the waveguide core portion. wherein the laser-writing operation comprises directing a beam of laser radiation to the cladding material layer at a depth within the cladding material layer. wherein the microstructure that is altered by the laser- writing operation has a refractive index greater than a refractive index of the cladding material layer.
While original claims 17-20 are directed to a method of forming a photonic interconnect die, comprising: forming a waveguide cladding portion on a substrate; forming a waveguide core portion within the waveguide cladding portion; forming a first photonic coupler at a first end of the waveguide core portion; and forming a second photonic coupler at a second end of the waveguide core portion
If claims 21-36 would have been originally presented along with claims 17-20 in the application applicant would have been required under 35 U.S.C. 121 to elect a single disclosed species for prosecution on the merits to which the claims shall be restricted if no generic claim is finally held to be allowable. Currently, claim 17 is only generic to claim 29.
Since applicant has received an action on the merits for the originally presented invention, this invention has been constructively elected by original presentation for prosecution on the merits. Accordingly, claims 21-36 are withdrawn from consideration as being directed to a non-elected invention. See 37 CFR 1.142(b) and MPEP § 821.03.
Information Disclosure Statement
The prior art documents submitted by Applicant(s) in the information Disclosure Statement(s) have all been considered and made of record (note the attached copy of form(s)
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 18-19 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.
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 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.
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.
Claim 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over “Yoshimura” et. al. US 20020039464 A1.
Regarding claims 17, Yoshimura teaches a method of forming a photonic interconnect die (see figs,. 1-316 and at least parag. 0155), comprising:
forming a waveguide cladding portion on a substrate (see at least figs. 1-2 and parag. 0143); forming a waveguide core portion within the waveguide cladding portion (see at least figs. 1-2 and parag. 0143); forming a first photonic coupler at a first end of the waveguide core portion; and forming a second photonic coupler at a second end of the waveguide core portion (see at least figs. 1-10; wherein each end of the waveguide is being coupled with a coupler see at least parag. 0205).
However, Yoshimura does not explicitly state the above coupler is “photonic coupler”. Nonetheless, it is obvious/well known to those of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that an optical coupler in a photonic chip/die is/known as photonic coupler, as such coupler would facilitates interfacing of the chip to other optical devices.
Claim 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over “Yoshimura” et. al. as applied in rejection of claim 17, and further in view of “Brusberg” et al. US 11054574 B2
Regarding claim 20, Yoshimura further teaches wherein forming the waveguide cladding portion on the substrate and forming the waveguide core portion within the waveguide cladding portion (see at least figs. 1-2 and parag. 0143) further comprises:
However, Yoshimura does not teach forming a radiation-curable polymer material over the substrate; and irradiating a region of the radiation-curable polymer material with laser radiation in a laser-writing operation to thereby form the waveguide core portion of a waveguide, wherein an un-radiated portion of the radiation-curable polymer material comprises the waveguide cladding portion. Such conventional method forming the core/waveguide in the same field of invention is taught by Brusberg (see col. 8, lines 27-37). Thus it would have been obvious to an ordinary artisan skilled in the art before effective date of the invention was made to modify Yoshimura’s waveguide core formation using the conventional laser writing technique taught by Brusberg in order to provide precision optical core within the optical cladding.
Citation of Relevant Prior Art
Prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure. In accordance with MPEP 707.05 the following references are pertinent in rejection of this application since they provide substantially the same information disclosure as this patent does. These references are:
US 20040126052 A1
US 20040258360 A1
US 20240176068 A1
US 20040223710 A1
US 20250198906 A1
US 20020039464 A1
US 20250006645 A1
US 20240004129 A1
US 20240219630 A1
US 20250218926 A1
US 20250224556 A1
US 20180314151 A1
US 20160131842 A1
US 20200313026 A1
US 11320588 B1
US 20240176070 A1
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Kaveh Kianni whose telephone number is 571-272-2417. The examiner can normally be reached on 9-19.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Thomas Hollweg can be reached on571-270-1739. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KAVEH C KIANNI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2874
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