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 .
Claim Objections
Claims 16 and 19 objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 16, “further the layer” should be “wherein the layer”; and
Claim 19, “further comprising further comprising” should be “.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
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) 1-10, 13, 17 and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kamali US 2018/0292644.
Regarding claim 1, Kamali discloses a device for processing electromagnetic waves (see figs.1, 3 and 5 and claim 1 and para.14 and 53), in at least figs.1-7, the device comprising:
a first metasurface (see figs.1, 3 and 5) having a first surface and a second surface (see figs.1, 3 and 5), the first surface of the first metasurface receiving the electromagnetic waves (see fig.1), the first metasurface defining a complex of structural optical properties (see figs.1, 3 and 5); and
wherein the first metasurface nonlocally maps the electromagnetic waves at the first surface to a spot (see annotated fig.1 below) on the second surface; and
wherein the first metasurface comprises a first material (a-Si, or a-Si with AI2O2) and a second material (PDMS), the first material having a refractive index different than the second material (see figs.1,3 and 5).
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Regarding claim 2, Kamali discloses the complex of structural optical properties includes 2 or more from a group of: sub-wavelength material-wave interaction; super-wavelength material-wave interaction; internal guidance; resonance; and one other effect (see figs.1, 3 and 5 and para.24 and abstract).
Regarding claim 3, Kamali discloses the first material of the first metasurface is disposed volumetrically (see fig.5).
Regarding claim 4, Kamali discloses the spot has a shape of a circle, oval, lenticular shape, rectangle, square or a polygon (see fig.1).
Regarding claim 5, Kamali discloses the electromagnetic waves have a first wave set (upper wave set) and a second wave set (bottom wave set); the first metasurface nonlocally maps the first wave set to the spot (an upper spot in fig.1) on the second surface; and the first metasurface nonlocally maps the second wave set to a second spot (a bottom spot in fig.1) on the second surface (see fig.1).
Regarding claim 6, Kamali discloses the first metasurface also nonlocally maps the electromagnetic waves at the first surface to a second spot (a bottom spot in fig.1) on the second surface (see annotated fig.1 above).
Regarding claim 7, Kamali discloses the first material and the second material are discrete (see fig.3 and 5), the second material is patterned in the first material, and the pattern is one from a group of: a grid of cylinders, an unstructured arrangement, and a plurality of rings (a grid of square or hexagonal cylinders, an unstructured arrangement or a plurality of discontinue rings, see fig.5 and para.24).
Regarding claim 8, Kamali discloses the first material (a-Si with AI2O2) and the second material (PDMS) are a continuous structure with gradients of refractive indices between a first refractive index of the first material and a second refractive index of the second material (see up-down direction of the side view of figs.3 and 5).
Regarding claim 9, Kamali discloses a sensor (725), the sensor positioned to sense signal from the spot of the first metasurface (see fig.7 and para.39).
Regarding claim 10, Kamali discloses the sensor is one from a group of: a photovoltaic device, a photovoltaic cell, a photosensitive device, a spectrometer, a distance sensor, and polarization sensor and an image capture device (725)(see fig.7 and para.39).
Regarding claim 13, Kamali discloses the first metasurface is configured to conditionally or flexibly redirect and delocalize light based one or more from a group of wavelength, polarization, incidence angle, and wavefront shape (abstract).
Regarding claim 17, Kamali discloses the device is part of one from a group of a smartphone, a computer, and a digital system (para.16).
Regarding claim 18, Kamali discloses a method for manufacturing a metasurface, in at least figs.1-5, the method comprising:
selecting a substrate (a substrate or silicon wafer, para.15 and 33 and fig.5);
depositing a layer of first material (a-Si, or a-Si with AI2O2) on the substrate (para.33 and fig.5(i));
creating a defined pattern of the first material on the substrate (see para.33 and fig.5(i)); and
encasing the defined pattern of the first material with a second material (PDMS, fig.5(ii)); and
wherein the first material has a refraction index different than the second material (see fig.5), and the encasing forms a volumetric metasurface (fig.5(iii) and fig.5 (iv)) that nonlocally maps electromagnetic waves at a first surface of the volumetric metasurface to a spot (see annotated fig.1 below) on a second surface of the volumetric metasurface (see figs.1, 3 and 5).
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Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
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.
Claim(s) 11 and 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kamali US 2018/0292644 as applied to claim 9 above, and further in view of Lai US 20230384481.
Regarding claim 11, Kamali does not explicitly disclose further comprising a support mechanism to hold the first metasurface in a fixed position relative to the sensor with the second surface of the metasurface and the spot facing the sensor.
Lai discloses a device, in at least figs.1 and 5, further comprising a support mechanism (130, para.28) to hold the first metasurface (110) in a fixed position (510) relative to the sensor (120) with the second surface of the metasurface and the spot facing the sensor (see figs.1 and 5) for the purpose of forming an optical sensor device (para.48 and 27).
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have further comprising a support mechanism to hold the first metasurface in a fixed position relative to the sensor with the second surface of the metasurface and the spot facing the sensor as taught by Lai in the device of Kamali for the purpose of forming an optical sensor device.
Regarding claim 12, Kamali does not explicitly disclose further comprising a position adjuster to hold the first metasurface in different positions relative to the sensor with the second surface of the metasurface and the spot facing the sensor, the position adjuster capable of moving the second surface and the spot of the first metasurface to different distances from the sensor.
Lai discloses a device, in at least figs.1 and 5, further comprising a position adjuster (130, para.28) to hold the first metasurface (110) in different positions relative to the sensor (120) with the second surface of the metasurface and the spot facing the sensor (see figs.1 and 5), the position adjuster capable of moving the second surface and the spot of the first metasurface to different distances from the sensor (see figs.1 and 5 and claim 14, para.27 and 48 disclose support structure 130 may be adjustable to reposition single nanostructure-integrated metalens 110 to one or more distance(s) different from distance 510) for the purpose of forming optical sensor device (para.48 and 27).
Claim(s) 14-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kamali US 2018/0292644 as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Shekhar US 2022/0102863.
Regarding claims 14-16, Kamali does not explicitly disclose further comprising a second metasurface having a first surface and a second surface, the first surface of the second metasurface receiving the electromagnetic waves, the second metasurface defining a second complex of structural optical properties, the second metasurface nonlocally maps the electromagnetic waves at the first surface to a second spot on the second surface of the second metasurface, further comprising a layer positioned between the first metasurface and the second metasurface, and the layer is one or more from a group of: a uniform supporting region, a liquid crystal matrix, a nonlinear optical component, and an illuminating LED matrix.
Shekhar discloses a device, in at least figs.10a and 10b, further comprising a second metasurface (Metasurface 2) having a first surface (bottom surface) and a second surface (upper surface)(see figs.10a and 10b), the first surface of the second metasurface receiving the electromagnetic waves (incoming wave, para.37), the second metasurface defining a second complex of structural optical properties (see figs.10a and 10b), the second metasurface nonlocally maps the electromagnetic waves at the first surface to a second spot on the second surface of the second metasurface (see figs.10a and 10b), further comprising a layer (liquid crystal polymer or any dielectric substrate (contrainer) or liquid crystal material) positioned between the first metasurface and the second metasurface (see figs.10a and 10b), and the layer is one or more from a group of: a uniform supporting region, a liquid crystal matrix, a nonlinear optical component, and an illuminating LED matrix (liquid crystal polymer or any dielectric substrate (contrainer) or liquid crystal material, see fig.10a and 10b) for the purpose of forming a liquid crystal based smart surface (para.68).
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have further comprising a second metasurface having a first surface and a second surface, the first surface of the second metasurface receiving the electromagnetic waves, the second metasurface defining a second complex of structural optical properties, the second metasurface nonlocally maps the electromagnetic waves at the first surface to a second spot on the second surface of the second metasurface, further comprising a layer positioned between the first metasurface and the second metasurface, and the layer is one or more from a group of: a uniform supporting region, a liquid crystal matrix, a nonlinear optical component, and an illuminating LED matrix as taught by Shekhar in the device of Kamali for the purpose of forming a liquid crystal based smart surface.
Claim(s) 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kamali US 2018/0292644.
Regarding claim 19, Kamali discloses the surface of the second material is flat (see figs.1, 3 and 5).
Kamali does not explicitly disclose further comprising smoothing the second material with a flattening process. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have further comprising smoothing the second material with a flattening process since it was known in the art that smoothing the second material with a flattening process will make the surface of the second material flat for the purpose of have better optical performance and obtaining desired optical properties (see fig.1).
Claim(s) 19 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kamali US 2018/0292644 as applied to claim 18 above, and further in view of Lin US 2020/0183050.
Regarding claim 19, Kamali does not explicitly disclose further comprising smoothing the second material with a flattening process.
Lin discloses a method for manufacturing a metasurface, in at least figs.1 and 2, the metasurface has multi-layered structure for the purpose of forming a multi-layered metalens with angular phase controls (abstract and para.9).
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the metasurface has multi-layered structure as taught by Lin in the method for manufacturing a metasurface of Kamali in order to have further comprising smoothing the second material with a flattening process because Kamali teaches the surface of the second material is flat and it was known in the art that smoothing the second material with a flattening process will make the surface of the second material flat for the purpose of have better optical performance and obtaining desired optical properties and forming a multi-layered lens with angular phase controls.
Regarding claim 20, Kamali does explicitly disclose further comprising: depositing a layer of third material on the second material; creating a second defined pattern of the third material on the second material; and encasing the defined pattern of the third material with a fourth material.
Lin discloses a method for manufacturing a metasurface, in at least figs.1 and 2, the metasurface has multi-layered structure for the purpose of forming a multi-layered metalens with angular phase controls (abstract and para.9).
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the metasurface has multi-layered structure as taught by Lin in the method for manufacturing a metasurface of Kamali in order to have further comprising: depositing a layer of third material on the second material; creating a second defined pattern of the third material on the second material; and encasing the defined pattern of the third material with a fourth material because Kamali also teach the method for manufacturing the first layer of the metasurface in claim 18 and fig.5 for the purpose of forming a multi-layered lens with angular phase controls.
Contact Information
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Lin US 2020/0183050 (at least figs.1 and 2) can be a primary reference as well.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JIA X PAN whose telephone number is (571)270-7574. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 11:00AM - 5:00PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Michael H Caley can be reached at (571)272-2286. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JIA X PAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2871