DETAILED ACTION
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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, 5, 6, 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by “Flip-Chip Interconnection Lumped-Electrode EADFB Laser for 100-Gb/s/λ Transmitter” by Kanazawa et al.
Regarding claim 1, Kanazawa teaches an optical circuit comprising a wiring board (RF circuit board, Fig. 1) that receives high-frequency electric signals from the outside, a light source chip including an optical modulator (EADFB laser chip, Fig. 1), a subcarrier on which the wiring board and the light source chip are mounted (Subcarrier, Fig. 1), and a connection board (FC interconnection board, Fig. 1) that connects the signal line of the wiring board (via Au bumps and a Signal Layer on the FC interconnection board) to the modulation input terminal of the light source chip and has a transmission line in the shape of a coplanar line, wherein when a distance from a center line along a length direction of the transmission line to a ground electrode on the same plane as the transmission line is d (equivalent to a signal space of 35 µm), a thickness T of the connection substrate (board is 0.45 X 0.26 X 0.15 mm in size, i.e., T = 0.15 mm) satisfies d < T < 0.4 (mm).
Regarding claim 5, Kanazawa further teaches bumps connect between the signal line and the transmission line and between the transmission line and the modulation input terminal, respectively (Au or gold bumps).
Regarding claim 6, Kanazawa further teaches the light source chip is an electro-absorption modulator (EADFB laser chip).
Regarding claim 16, Kanazawa further teaches the light source chip is an electro-absorption modulator (EADFB laser chip).
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.
Claim(s) 2, 3, 7, 10, 11, 13, 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kanazawa et al. as applied above, and further in view of JP 2017-107920 A patent publication.
Regarding claims 2, 3, 7, Kanazawa further teaches the connection substrate is made of aluminum nitride (“the substrate material is aluminum nitride”) but does not specify an InP material for the light source chip, which has a thermal expansion coefficient equivalent to that of the light source chip. The ‘920 publication discloses an optical circuit comprising a wiring board (high-frequency wiring board 270) that receives high-frequency electric signals from the outside, a light source chip including an optical modulator (EADFB laser chip 300), a subcarrier (370) on which the wiring board and the light source chip are carried, and a connection board (high frequency connection board 250) that connects the signal line of the wiring board to the modulation input terminal of the light source chip and has a transmission line in the shape of a coplanar line (Fig. 2), wherein the light source chip (300) comprises a n-InP substrate (202). InP is a commonly known and used semiconductor optoelectronics material in high-frequency applications, and it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Kanazawa’s invention, by selecting InP as the substrate material for the light source chip, as one of a finite number of identified, predictable solutions in the art.
Regarding claims 10, 11, Kanazawa further teaches bumps connect between the signal line and the transmission line and between the transmission line and the modulation input terminal, respectively (Au or gold bumps).
Regarding claims 13, 14, Kanazawa further teaches the light source chip is an electro-absorption modulator (EADFB laser chip).
Claim(s) 4, 12, 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kanazawa et al. as applied above, and further in view of U.S. PGPub 2004/0091268 A1 by Hogan et al.
Regarding claim 4, Kanazawa teaches the optical circuit including the signal line on the RF circuit board, the transmitting line on the laser chip and a 50Ω termination resistor. Kanazawa does not specify the lines are impedance matched at 50Ω. Hogan teaches a laser transmitter assembly comprising an impedance thin film resistor (36) that electrically connected to at least one of the two leads (33) for transmitting RF signals to a laser (26), in order to match a laser impedance to an impedance of the transmission line and to an output impedance of a laser driver integrated circuit. It thus would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to match the impedance of the signal and transmission lines to that of the termination resistor in Kanazawa’s invention, as suggested by Hogan, for the same reason and to reduce signal reflection.
Regarding claim 12, Kanazawa further teaches bumps connect between the signal line and the transmission line and between the transmission line and the modulation input terminal, respectively (Au or gold bumps).
Regarding claim 15, Kanazawa further teaches the light source chip is an electro-absorption modulator (EADFB laser chip).
Claim(s) 8, 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kanazawa et al. and the ‘920 publication as applied to claims 2, 3 above, and further in view of U.S. PGPub 2004/0091268 A1 by Hogan et al.
Regarding claims 8, 9, Kanazawa further teaches the optical circuit including the signal line on the RF circuit board, the transmitting line on the laser chip and a 50Ω termination resistor. Kanazawa does not specify the lines are impedance matched at 50Ω. Hogan teaches a laser transmitter assembly comprising an impedance thin film resistor (36) that electrically connected to at least one of the two leads (33) for transmitting RF signals to a laser (26), in order to match a laser impedance to an impedance of the transmission line and to an output impedance of a laser driver integrated circuit. It thus would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to match the impedance of the signal and transmission lines to that of the termination resistor in Kanazawa’s invention, as suggested by Hogan, for the same reason and to reduce signal reflection.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
JP 2004226769 A discloses a high frequency laser transmitter.
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/CHARLIE Y PENG/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2874
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