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
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Applicant recites “…wherein the width of the strip guide and the plurality of sub-gratings are configured to…” should be corrected to “…wherein the width of the strip waveguide and the plurality of sub-gratings are configured to…”
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Puckett et al. (US Pub. No. 2021/0263221, hereby referred as Puckett) in view of Watts et al. (US Pub. No. 2017/0315420, hereby referred as Watts) and Caimi et al. (US Pub. No. 2004/0227683, hereby referred as Caimi).
Regarding claim 1,
Puckett discloses,
A subwavelength grating based on bounds state in the continuum as the optical antenna for optical phased arrays, comprising (figure 1 below)
a substrate (element 110) and a grating layer atop the substrate (grating layer 120 on the substrate 110), wherein the grating layer comprises a strip waveguide having a width and a plurality of sub-gratings symmetrically disposed on both sides of the strip waveguide with a gap between edges of the strip waveguide and edges of the sub-gratings and with a periodicity on two sides of the strip waveguide and the periodicity of the sub-gratings are arrayed in a direction along the strip waveguide to form the subwavelength grating (see figure 1 below, the strip waveguide 122 as shown below and the plurality of 4 sub-gratings to the right and left sides of the strip waveguide 122 as shown below).
Puckett does not disclose,
wherein the width of the strip guide and the plurality of sub-gratings are configured to excite radiation modes to form destructive interference between sideward radiation modes such that the sideward emission ratio of the subwavelength grating is less than 0.1.
However, Watts teaches,
wherein the width of the strip guide and the plurality of sub-gratings are configured to excite radiation modes to form destructive interference between sideward radiation modes (see figure 11, the plurality of sub-gratings 138/135 to both sides of waveguide 132/133. Elements 135/138 are an antenna and they radiate. See paragraph [0102] for teaching an antenna element).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate wherein the width of the strip guide and the plurality of sub-gratings are configured to excite radiation modes to form destructive interference between sideward radiation modes, as taught by Watts, into Puckett in order to substitute one known element for another to obtain predictable result which is may allow an optical device to have a larger fill factor as compared to forming the perturbation layer and the waveguide layer at the same depth level. Separating the layers also reduces or eliminates the need to use partial etching in forming the antennas, resulting in more precisely formed, robust antennas.
Puckett and Watts, as modified, does not teach,
wherein the width of the strip guide and the plurality of sub-gratings are configured to excite radiation modes to form destructive interference between sideward radiation modes such that the sideward emission ratio of the subwavelength grating is less than 0.1.
However, Caimi teaches that changing the size of an antenna changes only the antenna resonant frequency. The antenna can therefore be scaled to another resonant frequency by dimensional variation. See paragraph [0094].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate the teaching of antenna frequency scaling, as taught by Caimi, into modified Puckett in order to have wherein the width of the strip guide and the plurality of sub-gratings are configured to excite radiation modes to form destructive interference between sideward radiation modes such that the sideward emission ratio of the subwavelength grating is less than 0.1 because antenna frequency scaling and changing the size (such as width) of the antenna grating is obvious and to have a desired frequency band for the antenna.
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Regarding claim 2,
Puckett, as modified, does not teach,
wherein the plurality of sub-gratings comprises one or more of a cuboid, a cube, a cylinder, or an elliptical cylinder.
However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate wherein the plurality of sub-gratings comprises one or more of a cuboid, a cube, a cylinder, or an elliptical cylinder because changing an antenna's shape offers significant benefits, primarily enabling a single, versatile antenna to perform the functions of multiple fixed-shape antennas by dynamically adjusting its operating parameters, such as frequency, gain, and directionality, since such a modification would have involved a mere change in the size/shape of a component. A change in size/shape is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art. In Re Rose, 105 USPQ 237 (CCPA 1955).
Regarding claim 3,
Puckett discloses,
wherein the plurality of sub-gratings are disposed on a different layer from the strip waveguide (figure 1 above, the sub-gratings to the right and left of the strip waveguide 122).
Regarding claim 4,
Puckett discloses,
wherein the thicknesses of the plurality of sub-gratings and the strip waveguide are the same (figure 1 above, the sub-gratings to the right and left of the strip waveguide 122).
Regarding claim 5,
Puckett discloses,
Wherein the substrate is a silicon oxide layer (figure 1, substrate 110, see paragraph [0044]).
Regarding claim 6,
Puckett discloses,
wherein the material of the strip waveguide and the plurality of sub-gratings comprises a material, wherein the material comprises one or more of silicon or silicon nitride (figure 1, element 120 or elements 122. See paragraph [0035]).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Nezhad US Pub. No. 2021/0231865.
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/AWAT M SALIH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2845