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 invention I, claims 1-10 in the reply filed on 11/25/2025 is acknowledged.
Claims 11-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.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 11/25/2025.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 4-6 and 9-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Epstein et al. (US Pat. 6,378,321).
Regarding claim 1, Epstein discloses a system for optical cooling (Figs. 1-7), the system comprising: a substrate (40, Figs. 6-7; column 1, lines 50-55; column 6, lines 51-58); a first waveguide (12) supported by the substrate, the first waveguide configured to provide optical cooling by fluorescence up-conversion (column 4, lines 3-16, 29-50); a first optical fiber (70) coupled to the first waveguide (optical fiber 70 coupled to first waveguide 12 via substrate 40 including heat sink 21; Figs. 6-7), the first optical fiber configured to deliver cooling light to the first waveguide (column 6, lines 59-65); and a second waveguide (14, 15) supported by the substrate, the second waveguide adjacent to or coincident with the first waveguide (12; Figs. 1-7); wherein an interaction of the cooling light with the first waveguide produces a zone of local optical refrigeration based on the fluorescence up-conversion (column 4, lines 3-16, 29-50), such that the second waveguide is optically cooled by physical proximity to the first waveguide (column 4, line 65 to column 6, line 2).
Regarding claim 4, Epstein discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the first waveguide (12) and the second waveguide (14, 15) are disposed in a side-by-side relationship on the substrate (Figs. 1-7).
Regarding claim 5, Epstein discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the first waveguide (12) and the second waveguide (14) are disposed in a vertical orientation on the substrate, with the second waveguide over the first waveguide (Figs. 1, 2).
Regarding claim 6, Epstein discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the first waveguide and the second waveguide are composed of a thin film material supported by the substrate, the thin film material comprising a III-V semiconductor material (column 4, lines 3-16).
Regarding claim 9, Epstein discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the zone of local optical refrigeration comprises a local cryogenic region in the substrate (40), around the first (12) and second (14, 15) waveguides (column 1, lines 36-55).
Regarding claim 10, Epstein discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the cooling light is provided by a pulsed control laser (pump laser 11) through the first optical fiber (70) to the first waveguide (12) to produce the zone of local optical refrigeration (column 4, lines 3-16, 29-50).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-3 and 7-8 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 prior art does not anticipate nor render obvious the combination set forth in the independent claims, and specifically does not show "a single photon detector supported by the substrate, the single photon detector including a nanowire on the second waveguide; and a second optical fiber coupled to the second waveguide, the second optical fiber configured to launch single photons into the second waveguide"; “the substrate is part of a photonic integrated circuit that includes a superconducting nanowire single photon detector (SNSPD)” and there is no teaching in the prior art of record that would, reasonably and absent impermissible hindsight, motivate one having ordinary skill in the art to modify the teachings of the prior art to incorporate the combination of technical features configured in the arrangement as recited above.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: Edwards et al.—US 6,041,610 optical refrigerator.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOSEPH F TRPISOVSKY whose telephone number is (571)270-5296. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 8AM-4PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jerry-Daryl Fletcher can be reached at (571) 270-5054. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JOSEPH F TRPISOVSKY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3763