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 I, Claims 1-7 in the reply filed on 05/04/2026 is acknowledged.
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.
Claims 1 and 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Reed et al. (US 2016/0181516).
Regarding claim 1, Reed discloses, a dynamic optical metasurface (Fig. 12), comprising:
a substrate (170); and
a phase change material (PCM) film (110) deposited on the substrate (Para. 0098), the PCM film being configured to be optically programmed to have a varying index of refraction in an infrared (IR) portion of an electromagnetic spectrum (Para. 0098)
Regarding claim 4, Reed discloses, the PCM film comprises a Group VA element and a Group VIA element (Para. 0004).
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.
Claims 2-3, 5 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Reed et al. (US 2016/0181516) as applied to claim 1 above, in view of Wang et al. (US 2011/0273756).
Reed remains as applied to claim 1 above.
Reed does not disclose the PCM film comprises an as- deposited amorphous state.
Wang teaches, from the same field of endeavor that in a dynamic optical metasurface that it would have been desirable to make the PCM film comprises an as- deposited amorphous state (Para. 0047-0049 and Figs. 10-12).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to make the PCM film comprises an as- deposited amorphous state as taught by the dynamic optical metasurface of Wang in the dynamic optical metasurface of Reed since Wang teaches it is known to include this feature in a dynamic optical metasurface for the purpose of providing a compact dynamic optical metasurface with accurate light control.
Regarding claim 3, Reed in view of Wang discloses and teaches as set forth above, and Wang further teaches, from the same field of endeavor that in a dynamic optical metasurface that it would have been desirable to make the PCM film comprises an as- deposited crystalline state (Para. 0047-0049 and Figs. 10-12).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the above mentioned limitations as taught by the dynamic optical metasurface of Wang in the dynamic optical metasurface of Reed since Wang teaches it is known to include this feature in a dynamic optical metasurface for the purpose of providing a compact dynamic optical metasurface with accurate light control.
Regarding claim 5, Reed in view of Wang discloses and teaches as set forth above, and Wang further teaches, from the same field of endeavor that in a dynamic optical metasurface that it would have been desirable to make the PCM film comprises antimony (Sb) and sulfur (S) (Para. 0046 and Figs. 10-12).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the above mentioned limitations as taught by the dynamic optical metasurface of Wang in the dynamic optical metasurface of Reed since Wang teaches it is known to include this feature in a dynamic optical metasurface for the purpose of providing a compact dynamic optical metasurface with accurate light control.
Regarding claim 7, Reed in view of Wang discloses and teaches as set forth above, and Wang further teaches, from the same field of endeavor that in a dynamic optical metasurface that it would have been desirable to make the PCM film comprises an optically programmable chalcogenide film (Para. 0046-0047 and Figs. 10-12).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the above mentioned limitations as taught by the dynamic optical metasurface of Wang in the dynamic optical metasurface of Reed since Wang teaches it is known to include this feature in a dynamic optical metasurface for the purpose of providing a compact dynamic optical metasurface with accurate light control.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Reed et al. (US 2016/0181516) as applied to claim 1 above, in view of Fan et al. (US 2018/0045953).
Reed remains as applied to claim 1 above.
Reed does not disclose the PCM film comprises a gradient-index (GRIN) optical film.
Fan teaches, from the same field of endeavor that in a dynamic optical metasurface that it would have been desirable to make the PCM film comprises a gradient- index (GRIN) optical film (Para. 0283).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to make the PCM film comprises a gradient- index (GRIN) optical film as taught by the dynamic optical metasurface of Fan in the dynamic optical metasurface of Reed since Fan teaches it is known to include this feature in a dynamic optical metasurface for the purpose of providing low loss and efficient dynamic optical metasurface.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Caldwell et al. (US 2019/0278112), Son et al. (US 2019/0278150) and Baleine et al. (US 9,293,197) discloses a dynamic optical metasurface that includes a substrate and a phase change material (PCM).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DAWAYNE A PINKNEY whose telephone number is (571)270-1305. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Pinping Sun can be reached at 571-270-1284. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DAWAYNE PINKNEY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2872 05/12/2026
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