DETAILED ACTION
This office action is in response to the application filed on February 7, 2024. Claims 1 – 16 are pending.
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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. DE10 2021 120 638.3, filed on August 9, 2021.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) was submitted on February 7, 2024. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the Examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112(b)
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 1, 3, 5 - 7, 9 - 11 and 13 - 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Regarding Claim 6, it recites the limitation “wherein the semiconductor layer sequence is designed…”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. For examining purposes, the Examiner has interpreted “wherein the semiconductor layer sequence is designed…” to mean “wherein the semiconductor laser is designed…”.
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 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, 6 and 9 - 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by LaChapelle (US 2018/0284274 A1) referred to as LaChapelle hereinafter.
Regarding Claim 1, LaChapelle discloses an optical sensor arrangement (Par. [0028] FIG. 1 illustrates an example light detection and ranging (lidar) system 100. The lidar system 100 may be referred to as a laser ranging system, a laser radar system, a LIDAR system, a lidar sensor, or a laser detection and ranging (LADAR or ladar) system), comprising an emitter unit (Par. [0028] The light source 110 may be, for example, a laser which emits light having a particular operating wavelength in the infrared, visible, or ultraviolet portions of the electromagnetic (i.e. electromagnetic radiation) spectrum. As a more specific example, the light source 110 may include a laser with an operating wavelength between approximately 1.2 μm and 1.7 μm) and a receiver unit (Par. [0028] The lidar system 100 may include a light source 110, a mirror 115, a scanner 120, a receiver 140, and a controller 150); wherein:
- the emitter unit comprises a semiconductor laser configured to emit coherent electromagnetic radiation (Par. [0052] The light source 110 may include a laser diode, where the laser diode operating in the light source 110 may be an aluminum-gallium-arsenide (AlGaAs) (i.e. semiconductor) laser diode, an indium-gallium-arsenide (InGaAs) (i.e. semiconductor) laser diode, or an indium-gallium-arsenide-phosphide (InGaAsP) (i.e. semiconductor) laser diode, or any other suitable diode Par. [0117] any suitable semiconductor material, such as for example, silicon, germanium, InGaAs, InGaAsP, or indium phosphide (InP)) having at least two wavelengths (Fig. 6. Par. [0096] the lidar system 100 may output the beams 250A-N at the same wavelength or different wavelengths. The beam 250A for example may have the wavelength of 1540 nm, the beam 250B may have the wavelength of 1550 nm, the beam 250C may have the wavelength of 1560 nm, etc.), and
- the emitter unit is configured to direct the emitted electromagnetic radiation towards a distant target (Par. [0029] the light source 110 emits an output beam of light 125 which may be continuous-wave, pulsed, or modulated in any suitable manner for a given application. The output beam of light 125 is directed downrange toward a remote target 130 located a distance D from the lidar system 100 and at least partially contained within a field of regard of the system 100. Par. [0030] the target 130 may scatter or, in some cases, reflect at least a portion of light from the output beam 125, and some of the scattered or reflected light may return toward the lidar system 100); wherein
- the receiver unit comprises at least one optical sensor (Par. [0063] The receiver 140 may be referred to as (or may include) a photoreceiver, optical receiver, optical sensor, detector, photodetector, or optical detector) configured to selectively detect electromagnetic radiation depending on the at least two wavelengths (Par. [0136] FIG. 12 multispectral lidar system, wavelength-selective optical elements 660A, 660B, . . . 660N direct an input beam 612, which includes light scattered or emitted from the target at different secondary wavelengths, toward the corresponding detectors 630A, 630B, . . . 630N), and
- the receiver unit is arranged relative to the emitter unit (Fig. 1) and configured such that electromagnetic radiation scattered or reflected by the distant target is detectable on the optical sensor (Par. [0030] Once the output beam 125 reaches the downrange target 130, the target 130 may scatter or, in some cases, reflect at least a portion of light from the output beam 125, and some of the scattered or reflected light may return toward the lidar system 100. In FIG. 1, the scattered or reflected light is represented by input beam 135, which passes through the scanner 120, which may be referred to as a beam scanner, optical scanner, or laser scanner).
Regarding Claim 6, LaChapelle discloses Claim 1. LaChapelle further discloses wherein the semiconductor layer sequence is designed as a distributed feedback laser, as an edge-emitting laser or as a horizontal cavity surface-emitting laser (Par. [0052] The light source 110 may include a laser diode, such as a Fabry-Perot laser diode, a quantum well laser, a distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) laser, a distributed feedback (DFB) laser, or a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL)).
Regarding Claim 9, LaChapelle discloses Claim 1. LaChapelle further discloses wherein: - the emitter unit comprises a driver circuit for operating the semiconductor laser (Fig. 1, Par. [0028] The lidar system 100 may include a light source 110, a mirror 115, a scanner 120, a receiver 140, and a controller 150 (i.e. driver circuit)), and - the driver circuit is configured to control the semiconductor laser such that the coherent electromagnetic radiation of one of the emitted wavelengths is emitted (Par. [0064] The receiver 140 may send the electrical output signal 145 to the controller 150 for processing or analysis, e.g., to determine a time-of-flight value corresponding to a received optical pulse) with a time offset (Par. [0050] pulse period (e.g., a time between consecutive pulses) to the coherent electromagnetic radiation of at least one other emitted wavelength (Par. [0065] the controller 150 may cause the light source 110 to adjust one or more of the frequency, period, duration, pulse energy, peak power, average power, or wavelength of the optical pulses produced by light source 110. Par. [0066] The controller 150 may determine a time-of-flight value for an optical pulse based on timing information associated with when the pulse was emitted by light source 110 and when a portion of the pulse (e.g., the input beam 135) was detected or received by the receiver 140).
Regarding Claim 10, LaChapelle discloses Claim 9. LaChapelle further discloses wherein: - the receiver unit comprises a measuring circuit (Par. [0038] –[0039] If the lidar system 100 measures (i.e. measuring circuit) a time of flight of T (e.g., T represents a round-trip time of flight for an emitted pulse of light to travel from the lidar system 100 to the target 130 and back to the lidar system 100), then the distance D from the target 130 to the lidar system 100 may be expressed as D=c.Math.T/2, where c is the speed of light (approximately 3.0×10.sup.8 m/s)), - the measuring circuit is configured to read out electromagnetic radiation detected by the optical sensor as sensor signals and to assign the sensor signals to one of the wavelengths of the emitted coherent electromagnetic radiation depending on the time offset (Par. [0093] A distance to a portion of the target 130 may be determined based at least in part on a time-of-flight measurement for a corresponding pulse).
Regarding Claim 11, LaChapelle discloses Claim 10. LaChapelle further discloses wherein: - the emitter unit comprises a movable mirror configured to direct the emitted coherent electromagnetic radiation towards the distant target (Par. [0058] the scanner 120 steers the output beam 125 in one or more directions downrange. The scanner 120 may include one or more scanning mirrors and one or more actuators driving the mirrors to rotate, tilt, pivot, or move the mirrors in an angular manner about one or more axes), or configured to direct the emitted coherent electromagnetic radiation across an angular range defining a field of view, - the measuring circuit is configured to assign the sensor signals to a position of the movable mirror (Par. [0061] The one or more scanning mirrors of the scanner 120 may be communicatively coupled to the controller 150 which may control the scanning mirror(s) so as to guide the output beam 125 in a desired direction downrange or along a desired scan pattern. Par. [0095] Similar to the scan pattern 240, each of the linear scan patterns 254A-N includes pixels associated with one or more laser pulses and distance measurements).
Regarding Claim 12, LaChapelle discloses Claim 10. LaChapelle further discloses wherein: - the measuring circuit is configured to measure a start time of the emission for the emitted coherent electromagnetic radiation, - the measuring circuit is configured to measure an end time for electromagnetic radiation detected by the optical sensor (Par. [0066] The controller 150 may determine a time-of-flight value for an optical pulse based on timing information associated with when the pulse was emitted (i.e. start time) by light source 110 and when a portion of the pulse (e.g., the input beam 135) was detected or received (i.e. end time) by the receiver 140), and - to generate an output signal from the start and end time, which represents a measure of the distance of the distant target to the optical sensor arrangement (Par. [0093] A distance to a portion of the target 130 may be determined based at least in part on a time-of-flight measurement for a corresponding pulse).
Regarding Claim 13, LaChapelle discloses Claim 10. LaChapelle further discloses wherein the measuring circuit is configured to generate a differential signal from sensor signals following one another according to the time offset (Par. [0088] the distance to a remote target 130 is determined from the time-of-flight for a pulse of light to travel to the target 130 and back (i.e. time offset)).
Regarding Claim 14, LaChapelle discloses Claim 1. LaChapelle further discloses wherein the semiconductor laser is implemented on a chip (Par. [0141] a die containing an array of photodiodes coated with a color filter array is placed onto a chip carrier next to a die containing an APD for detecting lidar pulses. The chip carrier is then surface-mounted mounted onto a printed circuit board next to a surface-mounted or through-hole mounted bolometer package).
Regarding Claim 15, LaChapelle discloses Claim 1. LaChapelle further discloses wherein the emitter unit and the receiver unit are arranged in a common housing or module in relation to each other (Par. [0041] the light source 110, the scanner 120, and the receiver 140 may be packaged together within a single housing 155, which may be a box, case, or enclosure that holds or contains all or part of a lidar system 100).
Regarding Claim 16, LaChapelle discloses an optical sensor arrangement (Par. [0028] FIG. 1 illustrates an example light detection and ranging (lidar) system 100. The lidar system 100 may be referred to as a laser ranging system, a laser radar system, a LIDAR system, a lidar sensor, or a laser detection and ranging (LADAR or ladar) system), comprising an emitter unit (Par. [0028] The light source 110 may be, for example, a laser which emits light having a particular operating wavelength in the infrared, visible, or ultraviolet portions of the electromagnetic (i.e. electromagnetic radiation) spectrum. As a more specific example, the light source 110 may include a laser with an operating wavelength between approximately 1.2 μm and 1.7 μm) and a receiver unit (Par. [0028] The lidar system 100 may include a light source 110, a mirror 115, a scanner 120, a receiver 140, and a controller 150); wherein:
the emitter unit comprises a semiconductor laser configured to emit coherent electromagnetic radiation (Par. [0052] The light source 110 may include a laser diode, where the laser diode operating in the light source 110 may be an aluminum-gallium-arsenide (AlGaAs) (i.e. semiconductor) laser diode, an indium-gallium-arsenide (InGaAs) (i.e. semiconductor) laser diode, or an indium-gallium-arsenide-phosphide (InGaAsP) (i.e. semiconductor) laser diode, or any other suitable diode Par. [0117] any suitable semiconductor material, such as for example, silicon, germanium, InGaAs, InGaAsP, or indium phosphide (InP)) having at least two wavelengths (Fig. 6. Par. [0096] the lidar system 100 may output the beams 250A-N at the same wavelength or different wavelengths. The beam 250A for example may have the wavelength of 1540 nm, the beam 250B may have the wavelength of 1550 nm, the beam 250C may have the wavelength of 1560 nm, etc.),
the emitter unit comprises a driver circuit for operating the semiconductor laser (Fig. 1, Par. [0028] The lidar system 100 may include a light source 110, a mirror 115, a scanner 120, a receiver 140, and a controller 150 (i.e. driver circuit)), and
the driver circuit is configured to control the semiconductor laser such that the coherent electromagnetic radiation of one of the emitted wavelengths is emitted (Par. [0064] The receiver 140 may send the electrical output signal 145 to the controller 150 for processing or analysis, e.g., to determine a time-of-flight value corresponding to a received optical pulse) with a time offset (Par. [0050] pulse period (e.g., a time between consecutive pulses) to the coherent electromagnetic radiation of at least one other emitted wavelength (Par. [0065] the controller 150 may cause the light source 110 to adjust one or more of the frequency, period, duration, pulse energy, peak power, average power, or wavelength of the optical pulses produced by light source 110. Par. [0066] The controller 150 may determine a time-of-flight value for an optical pulse based on timing information associated with when the pulse was emitted by light source 110 and when a portion of the pulse (e.g., the input beam 135) was detected or received by the receiver 140), and
the emitter unit is configured to direct the emitted electromagnetic radiation towards a distant target (Par. [0029] the light source 110 emits an output beam of light 125 which may be continuous-wave, pulsed, or modulated in any suitable manner for a given application. The output beam of light 125 is directed downrange toward a remote target 130 located a distance D from the lidar system 100 and at least partially contained within a field of regard of the system 100. Par. [0030] the target 130 may scatter or, in some cases, reflect at least a portion of light from the output beam 125, and some of the scattered or reflected light may return toward the lidar system 100); wherein
the receiver unit comprises at least one optical sensor (Par. [0063] The receiver 140 may be referred to as (or may include) a photoreceiver, optical receiver, optical sensor, detector, photodetector, or optical detector) configured to selectively detect electromagnetic radiation depending on the at least two wavelengths (Par. [0136] FIG. 12 multispectral lidar system, wavelength-selective optical elements 660A, 660B, . . . 660N direct an input beam 612, which includes light scattered or emitted from the target at different secondary wavelengths, toward the corresponding detectors 630A, 630B, . . . 630N), and
the receiver unit is arranged relative to the emitter unit (Fig. 1) and configured such that electromagnetic radiation scattered or reflected by the distant target is detectable on the optical sensor (Par. [0030] Once the output beam 125 reaches the downrange target 130, the target 130 may scatter or, in some cases, reflect at least a portion of light from the output beam 125, and some of the scattered or reflected light may return toward the lidar system 100. In FIG. 1, the scattered or reflected light is represented by input beam 135, which passes through the scanner 120, which may be referred to as a beam scanner, optical scanner, or laser scanner).
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 of this title, 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 - 5, 7 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over LaChapelle (US 2018/0284274 A1) in view of Raring et al., (US 10,084,281 B1) referred to as Raring hereinafter.
Regarding Claim 2, LaChapelle discloses claim 1. LaChapelle further discloses wherein
- the semiconductor laser comprises a semiconductor layer sequence (Par. [0116]-[0117] FIG. 10 an example InGaAs avalanche photodiode (APD) 400, where the APD 400 may include doped or undoped layers of any suitable semiconductor material, such as for example, silicon, germanium, InGaAs, InGaAsP, or indium phosphide (InP)) comprising at least an active layer (Par. [0117] the upper electrode 402 is partially transparent or has an opening to allow input light 410 to pass through to the active region of the APD 400, where the active region refers to an area over which the APD 400 may receive and detect the input light 410), - the active layer comprises a quantum well structure (Par. [0052] The light source 110 may include a laser diode, such as a Fabry-Perot laser diode, a quantum well laser, a distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) laser, a distributed feedback (DFB) laser, or a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL)) the quantum well structure being configured to emit coherent electromagnetic radiation having a first and second wavelength (Par. [0096] the lidar system 100 may output the beams 250A-N at the same wavelength or different wavelengths. The beam 250A for example may have the wavelength of 1540 nm, the beam 250B may have the wavelength of 1550 nm, the beam 250C may have the wavelength of 1560 nm, etc).
LaChapelle does not specifically teach a first and second active layer.
However, Raring teaches the semiconductor laser comprises a semiconductor layer sequence comprising at least a first active layer and a second active layer (Col. 16:9-15, FIG. 2C illustrating a laser device with multiple active regions according examples of the present invention. FIG. 2C shows a substrate, an n-type cladding region overlying the substrate, active region 1 with a first peak wavelength overlying a first portion of the n-type cladding region, and ridge waveguide structures overlying each of the active regions), the first active layer comprises one or more first active regions each formed as a quantum well structure the quantum well structure (Col. 13:16-20, The active layer may be comprised of multiple quantum wells, with 2-10 quantum wells. The quantum wells may be comprised of InGaN with GaN barrier layers separating them) being configured to emit coherent electromagnetic radiation having a first wavelength (Col. 16:12-14 active region 1 with a first peak wavelength overlying a first portion of the n-type cladding region), and the second active layer comprises one or more second active regions each formed as a quantum well structure (Col. 13:16-20, The active layer may be comprised of multiple quantum wells, with 2-10 quantum wells. The quantum wells may be comprised of InGaN with GaN barrier layers separating them), the quantum well structure being configured to emit coherent electromagnetic radiation having a second wavelength (Col. 16:17-19 the ridge waveguide overlying active region 2 operates at a second peak emission wavelength characteristic of active region 2).
References LaChapelle and Raring are considered to be analogous art because they relate to laser devices. Therefore, it would be obvious to one possessing ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to specifying the a first and second active layers as taught by Raring in the invention of LaChapelle. This modification would allow multiple active regions that provide multiple wavelengths and/or colors (See Raring, Col. 17:13-14).
Regarding Claim 3, LaChapelle in view of Raring teaches Claim 2. Raring further teaches wherein the semiconductor layer sequence comprises one or more further active layers (Col. 17: 13-14, multiple active regions that provide multiple wavelengths (i.e. further active layers) and/or colors ) comprising active regions formed as a quantum well structure (Col. 13:16-18 The active layer may be comprised of multiple quantum wells, with 2-10 quantum wells), and - the quantum well structure is configured in each case to emit coherent electromagnetic radiation having a further wavelength (Col. 15:59-62, multiple laser wavelengths and/or colors are obtained by providing multiple active regions, and each of the active regions is associated with a specific wavelength (or color)).
Regarding Claim 4, LaChapelle in view of Raring teaches Claim 3. LaChapelle further teaches wherein the further wavelength or wavelengths are different from the first and second wavelengths or correspond to one of the other wavelengths (Par. [0096] the lidar system 100 may output the beams 250A-N at the same wavelength or different wavelengths. The beam 250A for example may have the wavelength of 1540 nm, the beam 250B may have the wavelength of 1550 nm, the beam 250C may have the wavelength of 1560 nm, etc.).
Regarding Claim 5, LaChapelle in view of Raring teaches Claim 2. Raring further teaches wherein one or more of the active layers have a mixed quantum well structure, or quantum well intermixing, as the quantum well structure (Col. 18:4-9, the gain-peak of the semiconductor material can be spatially manipulated post-growth through quantum well intermixing (QWI) processes and/or disordering of the light emitting layers method for obtaining multiple laser wavelengths and/or colors after the active regions have already been formed).
Regarding Claim 7, LaChapelle in view of Raring teaches Claim 2. Raring further teaches wherein - the semiconductor laser comprises a radiation outcoupling surface comprising a first subregion and a second subregion different from the first subregion (Fig. 2C Col 16:15-19 The ridge waveguide active region 1 operates at a first peak emission wavelength characteristic of active region 1 (i.e. first subregion), and the ridge waveguide overlying active region 2 operates at a second peak emission wavelength characteristic of active region 2 (i.e. second subregion)),
- the coherent electromagnetic radiation having the first wavelength is emitted from the first subregion along a radiation direction (Col. 16:12-14 active region 1 with a first peak wavelength overlying a first portion of the n-type cladding region), and
- the coherent electromagnetic radiation having the second wavelength is emitted from the second subregion along the same radiation direction Col. 16:17-19 the ridge waveguide overlying active region 2 operates at a second peak emission wavelength characteristic of active region 2.
Regarding Claim 8, LaChapelle in view of Raring teaches Claim 7. Raring further teaches wherein: - the radiation outcoupling surface comprises one or more further subregions different from the first and second subregions (Col. 17: 13-14, multiple active regions that provide multiple wavelengths (i.e. further subregions) and/or colors), and - the coherent electromagnetic radiation emitted from active regions of further active layers is emitted from the further subregions along the radiation direction (Col. 15:59-62, multiple laser wavelengths and/or colors are obtained by providing multiple active regions, and each of the active regions is associated with a specific wavelength (or color)).
Conclusion
The prior art references made of record are not relied upon but are considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Lell et al. (US 2011/0188530 A1) teaches active regions generates, during operation, coherent first electromagnetic radiation having a first wavelength range and incoherent second electromagnetic radiation having a second wavelength range. Donovan (US 2017/0307736 A1) teaches multi-wavelength lidar system.
Any inquiry concerning this communication should be directed to SUSAN E HODGES whose telephone number is (571)270-0498. The Examiner can normally be reached on Monday - Friday from 8:00 am (EST) to 4:00 pm (EST).
If attempts to reach the Examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the Examiner's supervisor, Brian T. Pendleton, can be reached on (571) . The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://portal.uspto.gov/external/portal. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free).
/Susan E. Hodges/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2425
Prosecution Insights