Detailed Action
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
2. Claims 1-20 are pending
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
3. 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.
4. Claim(s) 1-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shen et al “Shen” (CA 3101026 A1) and Hamerly et al “Hamerly” (WO 2020102204 A1).
(Please see the attached copies of Shen and Hamerly that number paragraphs in the same manner as that used in this Action).
5. Regarding claim 1, Shen shows a device for performing at least one vector operation (Abstract, para 549 show vector multiplication), comprising: a photonic array comprising a plurality of unit cells, wherein one or more of the plurality of unit cells comprises: a beam splitter configured to receive a first input of an optical signal and a second input of the optical signal (para 154, 264, 354, 465 show a photonic array of units, where each unit includes a beam splitter that receives an optical signal, para 542-545, 579-580, claim 28 show the beam splitter receiving a first and second input of the optical signal – note that the Mach-Zehnder interferometer has the beam splitter which receives first and second inputs of the optical signal), wherein the first input and the second input are temporally and spatially coherent (para 539, 542-545, 548 show the first and second inputs recombining in the Mach-Zehnder interferometer are fully [spatially and temporally] coherent) and output a first output of the optical signal and a second output of the optical signal (para 542-545, 548, 580 show the first and second output optical signals); a first photodetector configured to receive the first output of the optical signal and generate a third output of the optical signal, and a second photodetector configured to receive the second output of the optical signal and generate a fourth output of the optical signal (para 363, 368 show the array of photodetector units, para 546, 560, 563, 567, 574 show photodetectors each receiving an output optical signal and generating a subsequent output optical signal, para 581, 583-584 show the pair of photodetectors such that one receives the (first) output optical signal and outputs a (third) output optical signal, and the other receives the (second) output optical signal and outputs a (fourth) output optical signal); the one or more unit cells being configured to output, as a unit cell output, the third output of the optical signal and the fourth output of the optical signal (para 581, 583-584 show the pair of photodetectors such that one receives the (first) output optical signal and outputs a (third) output optical signal, and the other receives the (second) output optical signal and outputs a (fourth) output optical signal); and a controller configured to: encode a first vector in at least one of time-varying amplitudes of a first electric field or time-varying phases of the first electric field and encode a second vector in at least one of time-varying amplitudes of a second electric field or time-varying phases of the second electric field (please note the alternative recitation - para 575-576, 585, 589, 604 show encoding the first and second input vector elements in time modulated amplitudes of respective electric fields corresponding to the respective optical signals); and perform the at least one vector operation by multiplying the first vector and the second vector based on the unit cell output from the one or more of the plurality of unit cells, and determine a result of the multiplication (note this may be from just one unit cell - para 549, 575-579, 581 show performing the vector multiplication of the first and second vectors and determining the result). Although Shen mentions the array of optical units such as the beam splitter and photodetection mechanisms, Shen not show the crossbar arrangement per se. Hamerly however does show a crossbar array of optical units such as beam splitter and detection mechanisms, for efficient beam/signal recombination (para 144 shows the gratings of beam splitter and detection units – the modulated beams are recombined and emitted through the grating via the crossbar optical switch). It would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the crossbar array of optical units of Hamerly as the array of optical beam splitter/detection units in Shen, because it would provide an efficient way to recombine and output optical signals (Hamerly para 144).
6. Regarding claim 2, Shen also shows: (a) a plurality of the beam splitters (para 512, 554, 545, 565 for example show the plurality of beam splitters); (b) a light emitter configured to transmit the optical signal (para 358, 550, 581, 599 for example shows the light emitter transmitting the optical signal); and (c) a plurality of modulators coupled with the photonic array wherein one or more of the plurality of modulators is configured to: (i) receive the optical signal from the light emitter (para 353, 359, 399 show the plurality of modulators where at least one receives the optical signal from the emitter); (ii) modulate amplitudes of the optical signal (para 579-581 show the modulator modulating amplitudes of the optical signal); (iii) modulate phases of the optical signal (para 579-581 show the modulator modulating phases of the optical signal); and (iv) transmit the modulated amplitudes of the optical signal and modulated phases of the optical signal to one or more of the plurality of beam splitters (para 554-555, 579-581 show transmitting the modulated amplitudes and phases of the optical signal to the beam splitter). That the photonic array is a photonic crossbar array is shown in Hamerly and would be obvious to implement in Shen, the motivation for which is explained for claim 1.
7. Regarding claim 3, Shen shows an intensity modulator configured to: (a) receive optical signals from a light source; (b) modulate the amplitudes of the optical signal; and (c) transmit modulated amplitudes of the optical signal to a plurality of modulators (para 579-582 show a modulator that receives optical signals from a laser/light source, modulates the amplitudes of the optical signal and transmits the modulated amplitudes of the optical signal to other modulators including phase modulators).
8. Regarding claim 4, the intensity modulator is at least one of a balanced Mach-Zehnder Interferometer (MZI) or a ring resonator (Shen para 546, 559, 582 show both the Mach-Zehnder Interferometer and the ring resonator).
9. Regarding claim 5, the beam splitter is at least one of a 3dB directional coupler, a 50:50 beam splitter, or a multimode interferometer (note the alternative recitation – Shen para 358 shows the multimode interferometer).
10. Regarding claim 6, Shen shows a fixed-weight photonic component (para 438, 515, 516, 529 show photonic components where the weights are fixed).
11. Regarding claim 7, the beam splitter, the first photodetector, and the second photodetector are disposed on a substrate (Shen para 143, 371, 460, 476 show the photodetectors disposed on the substrate, and para 565, 575 show the beam splitter(s) disposed on the substrate).
12. Regarding claim 8, (i) the beam splitter is disposed on a substrate (Shen para 565, 575 show the beam splitter disposed on a substrate), and (ii) the first photodetector and the second photodetector are disposed in free space (Shen para 558, 579-581 show the interferometer and optical units, which have both photodetectors, are disposed in free space).
13. Regarding claim 9, the optical signal encodes at least one matrix element, the at least one matrix element being at least one of a tensor, a matrix, or a vector (Shen para 549, 575-579, 581 show encoding matrix elements such as a matrix and a vector).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
14. 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.
15. 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.
16. Claim(s) 10-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Shen.
17. Regarding claim 10, Shen shows a method of performing at least one vector operation (Abstract, para 549 show vector multiplication), comprising encoding, by a controller, a first vector in at least one of time-varying amplitudes of a first electric field or time-varying phases of the first electric field; encoding, by the controller, a second vector in at least one time-varying amplitudes of a second electric field or time-varying phases of the second electric field (please note the alternative recitation - para 575-576, 585, 589, 604 show encoding the first and second input vector elements in time modulated amplitudes of respective electric fields corresponding to respective optical signals); transmitting, by the controller, a first input of an optical signal and a second input of the optical signal to a beam splitter to generate a first output of the optical signal and a second output of the optical signal (para 154, 264, 354, 465 show a photonic array of units, where each unit includes a beam splitter that receives an optical signal, para 542-545, 579-580, claim 28 show the beam splitter receiving a first and second input of the optical signal – note that the Mach-Zehnder interferometer has the beam splitter which receives first and second inputs of the optical signal), wherein the first input and the second input are temporally and spatially coherent (para 539, 542-545, 548 show the first and second inputs recombining in the Mach-Zehnder interferometer are fully [spatially and temporally] coherent); transmitting, by the controller, the first output of the optical signal to a first photodetector to generate a third output of the optical signal, and the second output of the optical signal to a second photodetector to generate a fourth output of the optical signal (para 363, 368 show the array of photodetector units, para 546, 560, 563, 567, 574 show photodetectors each receiving an output optical signal and generating a subsequent output optical signal, para 581, 583-584 show the pair of photodetectors such that one receives the (first) output optical signal and outputs a (third) output optical signal, and the other receives the (second) output optical signal and outputs a (fourth) output optical signal), the third output of the optical signal and the fourth output of the optical signal defining a unit cell output (para 548, 581-584, 598 show the final output (third and fourth) optical signals make up the unit output to perform the matrix multiplication/operation element); and performing the at least one vector operation by multiplying the first vector and the second vector based on the unit cell output from one or more of a plurality of unit cells (note this may be from just one unit cell - para 549, 575-579, 581 show performing the vector multiplication of the first and second vectors); and determining, by the controller, a result of the multiplication of the first vector and the second vector (para 549, 575-579, 581 show determining the result of the multiplication of the first vector and the second vector).
18. Regarding claim 11, Shen shows determining, by the controller, a difference between the third output of the optical signal and the fourth output of the optical signal (para 560, 571-572, 581 show determining a difference between the final [third and fourth] outputs of the optical signal).
19. Regarding claim 12, Shen shows time-multiplexing, by the controller, the first vector and the second vector (para 401, 426, 495, 627 show time multiplexing the first and second vectors).
20. Regarding claim 13, the optical signal encodes matrix elements of at least one of a tensor, a matrix, or a vector (Shen para 549, 575-579, 581 show encoding matrix elements such as a matrix and a vector).
21. Regarding claim 14, Shen shows scaling, by the controller, the matrix elements of at the least one of the matrix or the vector to a value in a range of [-1,1] (para 139, 560 show scaling a particular matrix element to a value between [-1,1].
22. Regarding claim 15, Shen shows performing, by the controller, real or complex matrix multiplication by controlling phases of the optical signal and amplitudes of the optical signal (para 579-582 shows matrix multiplication is performed by modulating/controlling amplitudes of the optical signal and also with couplers that control phase shifts of the optical signal. Note that matrix multiplication will involve either real or complex values).
23. Regarding claim 16, Shen shows measuring, by the controller, optical intensity on a substrate para 142-143, 519, 565, 587 show ways of controlling optical intensity on the substrate).
24. Regarding claim 17, Shen shows transmitting, by a light source, the optical signal (para 358, 550, 581, 599 for example shows the light emitter transmitting the optical signal).
25. Regarding claim 18, Shen shows (a) receiving, by one or more of a plurality of modulators, the optical signal from a light source (para 353, 359, 399 show the plurality of modulators where at least one receives the optical signal from the emitter); (b) modulating, by the one or more of the modulators, amplitudes of the optical signal (para 579-581 show the modulator modulating amplitudes of the optical signal); (c) modulating, by the one or more of the modulators, phases of the optical signal (para 579-581 show the modulator modulating phases of the optical signal); and (d) transmitting, by the one or more of the modulators, the modulated amplitudes of the optical signal and modulated phases of the optical signal to the beam splitter (para 554-555, 579-581 show transmitting the modulated amplitudes and phases of the optical signal to the beam splitter).
26. Regarding claim 19, Shen shows transmitting, by the controller, the optical signal through a fixed-weight photonic component (para 438, 515, 516, 529 show the optical signal is transmitted via photonic components where the weights are fixed).
27. Regarding claim 20, Shen shows (a) disposing the beam splitter on a substrate (Shen para 565, 575 show the beam splitter disposed on a substrate); and (b) disposing the first photodetector and the second photodetector in free space (Shen para 558, 579-581 show the interferometer and optical units, which have both photodetectors, are disposed in free space).
Conclusion
28. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
a) Bunandar (US 11709520 B2) shows a photonic network which encodes vectors using optical signals to perform vector and matrix multiplication.
b) Rios Ocampo (US 11650617 B2) shows optical methods and devices for performing matrix and vector multiplication using optical signals, and describes some of the technology involved such as the specific modulator devices.
29. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to STEVEN PAUL SAX whose telephone number is (571)272-4072. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 9:30 - 6:00 Est.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Usmaan Saeed can be reached at 571-272-4046. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/STEVEN P SAX/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2146
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