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 Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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.
Claims 9 and 10 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 9 lacks a specific action, and therefore does not include an additional step of the method. Given the language of claim 10 (which depends upon claim 9), it is believed that claim 9 is intended to recite “… determining whether an order of the plurality of atomic objects within the object crystal is a desired order”, and such an amendment would overcome this rejection.
Claim 10 inherits the limitations of claim 9.
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) 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kirchner U.S. Patent No. 5,206,506 in view of Swallows et al. U.S. PGPUB No. 2023/0229956.
Regarding independent claim 1; Kirchner U.S. Patent No. 5,206,506 discloses a method comprising: controlling, by a controller 18, operation of one or more potential sources 16 to cause a first plurality of potential generating signals to be applied to respective potential generating elements of a confinement apparatus (“This electrodynamic flow of charge creates a small but measurable current 76 in the leads 15 to the electrodes” [col. 24; lines 64-66]), wherein application of the first plurality of potential generating signals to the respective potential generating elements causes a potential well 42 to be generated such that a plurality of atomic objects is confined within the potential well (“Ions, trapped within a given effective potential well (42), can be isolated, transferred, cooled or heated, separated, and combined” [Abstract]) and the plurality of atomic objects comprises at least two different species of atomic objects (“Measurement of induced image currents allows measurement and typing of ion species by their respective mass-to-charge ratios” [Abstract]); controlling, by the controller 18, operation of the one or more potential sources 16 to cause a second plurality of potential generating signals to be applied to the respective potential generating elements (“A programmable digital-to-analog converter (or DAC) array 16 governs the operation of the amplifiers 14 and receives program signals from a central processing unit 18 along a data bus 20. The central processing unit 18 thereby has complete control over the applied potentials at each electrode plane, enabling rapid and accurate changes in the effective potential fields experienced by charged particles travelling through the invention” [col. 12; lines 60-68]), wherein application of the second plurality of potential generating signals to the respective potential generating elements causes at least two potential wells 42 to be generated (“multiple effective potential wells (42)” [Abstract] – see also figure 4) such that a first subset of the plurality of atomic objects is confined in a first potential well of the at least two potential wells and a second subset of the plurality of atomic objects is confined in a second potential well of the at least two potential wells (“separation and storage of different ion species” [col. 1; lies 40-41]); controlling, by the controller, operation of one or more manipulation sources to cause one or more first manipulation signals to be incident on the first subset of the plurality of atomic objects (“The present invention, by furnishing means for rapidly and accurately changing the local characteristics of the effective potential field, provides a controllably non-conservative field that allows controlled directional transfer of energy from or to a trapped charged particle, without significantly changing the volume of the trapping well” [col. 10; lines 40-46]); and determining, by the controller, a species of the first atomic object (“Measurement of induced image currents allows measurement and typing of ion species by their respective mass-to-charge ratios” [Abstract]). However, Kirchner does not disclose that the plurality of atomic objects are comprised by a crystal and Kirchner does not disclose receiving, by the controller, a first sensor signal generated by a photodetector configured to capture fluorescence signals generated by the first subset of the plurality of atomic objects; and processing the first sensor signal to determine a respective species of at least one atomic object of the one or more atomic objects of the first subset of the plurality of atomic objects.
Swallows et al. U.S. PGPUB No. 2023/0229956 discloses a method comprising: controlling, by a controller (“the method is performed by a controller of a quantum computer” [0006]), operation of one or more potential sources to cause a first plurality of potential generating signals to be applied to respective potential generating elements of a confinement apparatus (“One or more voltage sources are controlled to cause a waveform to be applied to an array of electrodes of the atomic object confinement apparatus” [Abstract]), wherein application of the first plurality of potential generating signals to the respective potential generating elements causes a potential well to be generated such that an object crystal (“an electric potential well at a first location of the particular atomic object confinement apparatus, wherein the atomic object crystal is located at the first location” [0011]) comprising a plurality of atomic objects (“Atomic object crystals comprising two atomic objects (e.g., a coolant ion and a qubit ion) may oscillate in center-of-mass (COM) modes” [0087]) is confined within the potential well (“the atomic object confinement apparatus 50 confines a plurality of atomic object crystals” [0141]) and the plurality of atomic objects comprises at least two different species of atomic objects (“Atomic object crystals comprising two atomic objects (e.g., a coolant ion and a qubit ion) may oscillate in center-of-mass (COM) modes” [0087]); controlling, by the controller, operation of the one or more potential sources to cause a second plurality of potential generating signals to be applied to the respective potential generating elements (“the first potential well defines a first axial frequency, the second potential well defines a second axial frequency” [0041]), wherein application of the second plurality of potential generating signals to the respective potential generating elements causes at least two potential wells to be generated such that a first subset of the plurality of atomic objects is confined in a first potential well of the at least two potential wells (“a first electric potential well within which a first atomic object crystal is located” [0039]) and a second subset of the plurality of atomic objects is confined in a second potential well of the at least two potential wells (“a second potential well within which a second atomic object crystal is located” [0039]); controlling, by the controller, operation of one or more manipulation sources to cause one or more first manipulation signals to be incident on the first subset of the plurality of atomic objects (“the one or more manipulation sources 64 are configured to manipulate and/or cause a controlled quantum state evolution of one or more atomic objects within the apparatus 50” [0093]); receiving, by the controller, a first sensor signal generated by a photodetector configured to capture fluorescence signals generated by the first subset of the plurality of atomic objects (“an optics collection system 90 configured to collect and/or detect photons generated and/or scattered by atomic objects confined by the atomic object confinement apparatus 50. The optics collection system 90 may comprise one or more optical elements (e.g., lenses, mirrors, waveguides, fiber optics cables, and/or the like) and one or more photodetectors” [0099]); and processing the first sensor signal to determine a respective species of at least one atomic object of the one or more atomic objects of the first subset of the plurality of atomic objects ([0005]).
It would have been obvious to one possessing ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Kirchner with the photodetector of Swallows in order to utilize a commercially available detector for performing the ionic species detection described in Kirchner, wherein such a detector enables analysis of motional frequency and motional amplitude in making a determination of the species, thereby enhancing the accuracy of such a determination.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-8 and 11-19 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
Regarding independent claim 1; Kirchner U.S. Patent No. 5,206,506 discloses a method comprising: controlling, by a controller 18, operation of one or more potential sources 16 to cause a first plurality of potential generating signals to be applied to respective potential generating elements of a confinement apparatus (“This electrodynamic flow of charge creates a small but measurable current 76 in the leads 15 to the electrodes” [col. 24; lines 64-66]), wherein application of the first plurality of potential generating signals to the respective potential generating elements causes a potential well 42 to be generated such that a plurality of atomic objects is confined within the potential well (“Ions, trapped within a given effective potential well (42), can be isolated, transferred, cooled or heated, separated, and combined” [Abstract]) and the plurality of atomic objects comprises at least two different species of atomic objects (“Measurement of induced image currents allows measurement and typing of ion species by their respective mass-to-charge ratios” [Abstract]); controlling, by the controller 18, operation of the one or more potential sources 16 to cause a second plurality of potential generating signals to be applied to the respective potential generating elements (“A programmable digital-to-analog converter (or DAC) array 16 governs the operation of the amplifiers 14 and receives program signals from a central processing unit 18 along a data bus 20. The central processing unit 18 thereby has complete control over the applied potentials at each electrode plane, enabling rapid and accurate changes in the effective potential fields experienced by charged particles travelling through the invention” [col. 12; lines 60-68]), wherein application of the second plurality of potential generating signals to the respective potential generating elements causes at least two potential wells 42 to be generated (“multiple effective potential wells (42)” [Abstract] – see also figure 4) such that a first subset of the plurality of atomic objects is confined in a first potential well of the at least two potential wells and a second subset of the plurality of atomic objects is confined in a second potential well of the at least two potential wells (“separation and storage of different ion species” [col. 1; lies 40-41]); controlling, by the controller, operation of one or more manipulation sources to cause one or more first manipulation signals to be incident on the first subset of the plurality of atomic objects (“The present invention, by furnishing means for rapidly and accurately changing the local characteristics of the effective potential field, provides a controllably non-conservative field that allows controlled directional transfer of energy from or to a trapped charged particle, without significantly changing the volume of the trapping well” [col. 10; lines 40-46]); controlling, by the controller, operation of the one or more potential sources to cause a third plurality of potential generating signals to be applied to the respective potential generating elements (figure 4 illustrates at least a third potential well 42); and determining, by the controller, a species of the first atomic object (“Measurement of induced image currents allows measurement and typing of ion species by their respective mass-to-charge ratios” [Abstract]). However, Kirchner does not disclose that application of the third plurality of potential generating signals to the respective potential generating elements causes the first subset of the plurality of atomic objects and a first atomic object from the second subset of the plurality of atomic objects to be confined within the first potential well and a first remainder of the second subset of the plurality of atomic objects to be confined with the second potential well, and does not disclose receiving, by the controller, a first sensor signal generated by a photodetector configured to capture fluorescence signals generated by the first subset of the plurality of atomic objects. Therefore, Kirchner additionally fails to teach receiving, by the controller, a second sensor signal generated by a photodetector configured to capture fluorescence signals generated by the first subset of the plurality of atomic objects and the first atomic object from the second subset of the plurality of atomic objects confined within the first potential well.
Swallows et al. U.S. PGPUB No. 2023/0229956 discloses a method comprising: controlling, by a controller (“the method is performed by a controller of a quantum computer” [0006]), operation of one or more potential sources to cause a first plurality of potential generating signals to be applied to respective potential generating elements of a confinement apparatus (“One or more voltage sources are controlled to cause a waveform to be applied to an array of electrodes of the atomic object confinement apparatus” [Abstract]), wherein application of the first plurality of potential generating signals to the respective potential generating elements causes a potential well to be generated such that an object crystal (“an electric potential well at a first location of the particular atomic object confinement apparatus, wherein the atomic object crystal is located at the first location” [0011]) comprising a plurality of atomic objects (“Atomic object crystals comprising two atomic objects (e.g., a coolant ion and a qubit ion) may oscillate in center-of-mass (COM) modes” [0087]) is confined within the potential well (“the atomic object confinement apparatus 50 confines a plurality of atomic object crystals” [0141]) and the plurality of atomic objects comprises at least two different species of atomic objects (“Atomic object crystals comprising two atomic objects (e.g., a coolant ion and a qubit ion) may oscillate in center-of-mass (COM) modes” [0087]); controlling, by the controller, operation of the one or more potential sources to cause a second plurality of potential generating signals to be applied to the respective potential generating elements (“the first potential well defines a first axial frequency, the second potential well defines a second axial frequency” [0041]), wherein application of the second plurality of potential generating signals to the respective potential generating elements causes at least two potential wells to be generated such that a first subset of the plurality of atomic objects is confined in a first potential well of the at least two potential wells (“a first electric potential well within which a first atomic object crystal is located” [0039]) and a second subset of the plurality of atomic objects is confined in a second potential well of the at least two potential wells (“a second potential well within which a second atomic object crystal is located” [0039]); controlling, by the controller, operation of one or more manipulation sources to cause one or more first manipulation signals to be incident on the first subset of the plurality of atomic objects (“the one or more manipulation sources 64 are configured to manipulate and/or cause a controlled quantum state evolution of one or more atomic objects within the apparatus 50” [0093]); receiving, by the controller, a first sensor signal generated by a photodetector configured to capture fluorescence signals generated by the first subset of the plurality of atomic objects (“an optics collection system 90 configured to collect and/or detect photons generated and/or scattered by atomic objects confined by the atomic object confinement apparatus 50. The optics collection system 90 may comprise one or more optical elements (e.g., lenses, mirrors, waveguides, fiber optics cables, and/or the like) and one or more photodetectors” [0099]). However, Swallows does not disclose controlling, by the controller, operation of the one or more potential sources to cause a third plurality of potential generating signals to be applied to the respective potential generating elements, wherein application of the third plurality of potential generating signals to the respective potential generating elements causes the first subset of the plurality of atomic objects and a first atomic object from the second subset of the plurality of atomic objects to be confined within the first potential well and a first remainder of the second subset of the plurality of atomic objects to be confined with the second potential well. Therefore, Swallows does not disclose controlling, by the controller, operation of the one or more manipulation sources to cause one or more second manipulation signals to be incident on the first subset of the plurality of atomic objects and the first atomic object from the second subset of the plurality of atomic objects confined within the first potential well; or receiving, by the controller, a second sensor signal generated by a photodetector configured to capture fluorescence signals generated by the first subset of the plurality of atomic objects and the first atomic object from the second subset of the plurality of atomic objects confined within the first potential well.
The prior art fails to teach or reasonably suggest, in combination with the other claim limitations, a method comprising: controlling, by a controller, operation of one or more potential sources to cause a plurality of potential generating signals to be applied to respective potential generating elements, wherein application of the plurality of potential generating signals to the respective potential generating elements causes a first subset of a plurality of atomic objects comprising at least two different species of atomic objects and a first atomic object from a second subset of the plurality of atomic objects to be confined within a first potential well and a first remainder of the second subset of the plurality of atomic objects to be confined with a second potential well; controlling, by the controller, operation of one or more manipulation sources to cause one or more manipulation signals to be incident on the first subset of the plurality of atomic objects and the first atomic object from the second subset of the plurality of atomic objects confined within the first potential well; receiving, by the controller, a sensor signal generated by a photodetector configured to capture fluorescence signals generated by the first subset of the plurality of atomic objects and the first atomic object from the second subset of the plurality of atomic objects confined within the first potential well.
Regarding independent claim 11; this claim includes substantially similar limitations to those of independent claim 1 and is allowable at least for the reasons indicated with respect to independent claim 1.
Regarding dependent claims 2-8 and 12-19; these claims are allowable at least for their dependence, either directly or indirectly, upon independent claims 1 and 11.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
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/JASON L MCCORMACK/Examiner, Art Unit 2881
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