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 group II, claims 9-15, in the reply filed on 4/7/26 is acknowledged.
Information Disclosure Statement
3. The prior art documents submitted by applicant in the Information Disclosure Statement filed on 03/07/24, 10/17/25 and 04/07/26, have all been considered and made of record (note the attached copy of form PTO/SB/08a).
Specification
4. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
5. 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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
6. 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.
7. Claims 9-11 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kharel et al. (US 2021/0157177 A1).
With respect to claim 9, Kharel et al. (figures 4-5 and 14F) disclose an electro-optic modulator, comprising a lithium niobate thin film (LN thin film 414) ([0082]); a covering dielectric layer (SiO2) located on the lithium niobate thin film (414); a waveguide (412) located in the covering dielectric layer (SiO2) and directly above the lithium niobate thin film (414); bottom electrodes (420, 430, 1430F, 1440F) located in the covering dielectric layer (SiO2) and on two opposite sides (420, 430) of the waveguide (412) and spaced apart from the waveguide(figure 4); and metal electrodes (1424F, 1454F) located in the covering dielectric layer (SiO2), the metal electrodes respectively corresponding to the bottom electrodes (1430F, 1440F), and the metal electrodes (1424F, 1454F) being located on, and connected to, the respectively corresponding bottom electrodes (1430F, 1440F) (figure 14F and [0116]).
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With respect to claim 10, Kharel et al. (figures 4-5) disclose the electro-optic modulator, further comprising a supporting substrate (401, 501) located on a surface of the covering dielectric layer (SiO2) remote from the lithium niobate thin film (414); a first dielectric layer (502) located on a surface of the lithium niobate thin film (414) remote from the covering dielectric layer; and a bonding substrate (501, figure 5) located on a surface of the first dielectric layer (502) remote from the lithium niobate thin film (414).
With respect to claim 11, Kharel et al. (figures 4-5) disclose the electro-optic modulator, further comprising a second dielectric layer (SiO2, 502) located on the surface of the covering dielectric layer remote from the supporting substrate (401, 501), the second dielectric layer having a first opening (opening, figure 5), the first opening exposing the waveguide (512), portions of the bottom electrodes (420, 430, 520, 530), and a portion of the covering dielectric layer (SiO2), and the lithium niobate thin film (414, 514) being located in the first opening (figures 4-5).
With respect to claim 15, Kharel et al. (figures 4-5) disclose the electro-optic modulator, further comprising a plurality of the bottom electrodes (1430F, 1440F), a plurality of the metal electrodes (1424F, 1454F), and a plurality of the waveguides (412, 512), the waveguides being located between the metal electrodes (1424F, 1454F) that are adjacent, and projections of all of the waveguides onto a plane in which the lithium niobate thin film (414) is located are on a surface of the lithium niobate thin film (414) facing the covering dielectric layer (SiO2).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
8. 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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
9. 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.
10. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103(a) which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
(a) 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.
11. Claims 12-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Kharel et al. (as cited above) in view of Chakravarty et al. (US-20220317483-A1).
With respect to claims 12-13, Kharel et al. substantially disclose all the limitations of claimed invention except the lithium niobate thin film and the covering dielectric layer are combined together by way of bonding and a bonding layer that bonds together the lithium niobate thin film and the covering dielectric layer is disposed between the lithium niobate thin film and the covering dielectric layer.
However, Chakravarty et al. teach a device including the lithium niobate thin film and the covering dielectric layer are combined together by way of bonding and a bonding layer that bonds together the lithium niobate thin film and the covering dielectric layer is disposed between the lithium niobate thin film and the covering dielectric layer ([0078]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Kharel et al. to include the above features (accordance with the teaching of Chakravarty) for the purpose of propagating through the electro-optic modulator ([0055]).
Allowable Subject Matter
12. Claim 14 is 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 of record fails to disclose electro-optic modulator, further comprising backside electrodes disposed on a surface of the second dielectric layer remote from the covering dielectric layer, the backside electrodes respectively corresponding to the metal electrodes, and the backside electrodes being electrically connected to the respectively corresponding metal electrode as recited in claim 14.
Conclusion
13. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Ohmori et al. (US-11003043-B2) disclose an optical modulator. Wang et al. (US-11598980-B2) disclose electro-optic devices.
14. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Jennifer Doan whose telephone number is (571) 272-2346. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday to Friday from 7:00am to 3:30pm.
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, Thomas Hollweg can be reached on 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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/JENNIFER DOAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2874
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