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 .
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.
Election/Restrictions
Applicants’ election without traverse of Species F in the reply filed on 11 September 2026 is acknowledged.
Claim Objections
Claims 2, 12, and 21 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Regarding claims 2, 12, and 21: The word “material” should follow “a first dielectric”, “a second dielectric”, “a third dielectric”, and “a fourth dielectric” to make it clear that the claim is referring to a dielectric material and not another dielectric property such as dielectric constant. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1-3, 5-8, 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hornbeck et al. (US Patent No. 6,775,453; hereinafter Hornbeck) in view of Rasras (US 2009/0252456; hereinafter Rasras).
Regarding claim 1: Hornbeck disclosesA semiconductor structure (Figs. 7 and 10), comprising: a first dielectric layer (Figs. 7 and 10, dielectric 26c; as applied to claims 3, 5-8, and 11, portion of dielectric 26 including 26a and 26b);a second dielectric layer under the first dielectric layer (Figs. 7 and 10, portion of dielectric 26 including 26a and 26b; as applied to claims 3, 5-8, and 11, dielectric 26c, wherein the device is rotated appropriately/upside-down from the orientation shown in Figs. 7 and 10); a waveguide layer (Figs. 7 and 10, core material 32) over the second dielectric layer and between first sidewalls of the first dielectric layer (Figs. 7 and 10 shows the waveguide layer over the second dielectric layer and between first sidewalls of the first dielectric layer); a first cladding layer (Figs. 7 and 10, cap layer adjacent to core 32; as applied to claims 3, 5-8, and 11, Fig. 10, U-shaped graded refractive layer adjacent to dielectric layers 26a and 26b) between the first sidewalls of the first dielectric layer and directly over the semiconductor waveguide layer (Fig. 10 shows this), a second cladding layer (Figs. 7 and 10, U-shaped graded refractive layer adjacent to core 32; as applied to claims 3, 5-8, and 11, Fig. 10, cap layer adjacent to dielectric 26c) between first sidewalls of the second dielectric layer and directly under the waveguide layer (Fig. 10 shows the second cladding layer between first sidewalls of the second dielectric layer and directly under the waveguide layer), wherein a difference between a refractive index of the waveguide layer and a refractive index of the first cladding layer is less than a difference between the refractive index of the waveguide layer and a refractive index of the first dielectric layer (see col. 10, lines 10-15), and wherein a difference between the refractive index of the waveguide layer and a refractive index of the second cladding layer is less than a difference between the refractive index of the waveguide layer and a refractive index of the second dielectric layer (see col. 10, lines 10-15).
Hornbeck fails to teach that the waveguide layer is a semiconductor waveguide layer, which is interpreted as requiring the waveguide layer to comprise a semiconductor material. However, Hornbeck does state that the disclosed processing techniques are employed in creating IC-like structures and involve damascene semiconductor fabrication techniques, suggesting the inclusion of semiconductor materials in the device (see col. 7, lines 3-10). Additionally, Hornbeck teaches selecting materials for the core, cladding, and dielectric materials based on the desired refractive index profile (see col. 4, lines 9-20). Examiner takes Official Notice that silicon, a semiconductor, is a very well-known waveguide core material.
Rasras, also related to optical waveguides having multiple layers of cladding with the refractive index of each layer decreasing away from the core (see Rasras abstract), teaches using silicon, a semiconductor material, for the waveguide core (see Rasras paragraph 0023). It has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416. Since silicon was a well-known suitable material for a waveguide core, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to use silicon as the core material in the Hornbeck device based on its refractive index and its suitability for semiconductor and IC fabrication processes.
Regarding claim 2: Modified Hornbeck teachesThe semiconductor structure of claim 1 (as applied above), wherein the first dielectric layer comprises a first dielectric, the second dielectric layer comprises a second dielectric, the first cladding layer comprises a third material, and the second cladding layer comprises a fourth material, wherein the third material and the fourth material are different than the first dielectric and the second dielectric (see Hornbeck col. 3, lines 57-62 and see col. 8, lines 15-25).
While Hornbeck fails to teach that the third material and the fourth material are dielectric materials, Examiner takes Official Notice that dielectric cladding layers are well-known in the art. Further, Rasras teaches two dielectric materials for the two graded index cladding layers surrounding the silicon waveguide core (see Rasras paragraphs 0023 and 0024, silicon oxide and silicon nitride). It has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416. Since silicon oxide and silicon nitride are well-known suitable waveguide cladding materials having different refractive indices both lower than silicon, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use them as the third and fourth dielectric materials in the modified Hornbeck device based on their refractive indices and suitability for known semiconductor and IC fabrication processes.
Regarding claim 3: Modified Hornbeck teachesThe semiconductor structure of claim 1 (as applied above), wherein the first cladding layer is on an upper surface of the semiconductor waveguide layer and the first dielectric layer is on the upper surface of the semiconductor waveguide layer (Hornbeck Fig. 10 shows this, considering the device rotated upside-down from the orientation shown in Fig. 10), and wherein the first cladding layer extends along first sidewalls of the semiconductor waveguide layer and the first dielectric layer extends along the first sidewalls of the semiconductor waveguide layer (Hornbeck Fig. 10 shows this, considering the device rotated upside-down from the orientation shown in Fig. 10).
Regarding claim 5: Modified Hornbeck teachesThe semiconductor structure of claim 1 (as applied above), wherein a sidewall of the first cladding layer is directly over the semiconductor waveguide layer (Hornbeck Fig. 10 shows this, considering the device rotated upside-down from the orientation shown in Fig. 10, and wherein the sidewall of the first cladding layer is considered to be the surface at the bottom of the U-shaped segment) and a sidewall of the second cladding layer is directly under the semiconductor waveguide layer (Hornbeck Fig. 10 shows this).
Regarding claim 6: Modified Hornbeck teachesThe semiconductor structure of claim 5 (as applied above), wherein a second sidewall of the first dielectric layer extends along a sidewall of the first cladding layer and is directly over the semiconductor waveguide layer (Hornbeck Fig. 10 shows this), and wherein a second sidewall of the second dielectric layer extends along the sidewall of the second cladding layer and is directly under the second semiconductor waveguide layer (Hornbeck Fig. 10 shows this).
Regarding claim 7: Modified Hornbeck teachesThe semiconductor structure of claim 1 (as applied above), further comprising; a buffer layer (Hornbeck Fig. 10, considering the device rotated upside-down from the orientation shown in Fig. 10, U-shaped graded refractive layer adjacent to core 32) directly between the semiconductor waveguide layer and the first cladding layer (Hornbeck Fig. 10 shows this).
Regarding claim 8: Modified Hornbeck teachesThe semiconductor structure of claim 7 (as applied above), wherein the buffer layer is on sidewalls and an upper surface of the semiconductor waveguide layer and separates the semiconductor waveguide layer from the first cladding layer (Hornbeck Fig. 10 shows this), and wherein the buffer layer is directly between the first cladding layer and the second cladding layer (see Fig. 10, along either side of the core, the buffer layer extends from a bottom surface of the first cladding layer to a top surface of the second cladding layer, directly between the first cladding layer and the second cladding layer).
Regarding claim 12: Hornbeck disclosesA semiconductor structure (Figs. 7 and 10), comprising: a first dielectric layer (Figs. 7 and 10, dielectric 26c; as applied to claims 14-15, portion of dielectric 26 including 26a and 26b) comprising a first dielectric having a first refractive index (dielectric layers 26a-c inherently comprise a first dielectric material and inherently have a refractive index); a second dielectric layer (Figs. 7 and 10, portion of dielectric 26 including 26a and 26b; as applied to claims 14-15, dielectric 26c, wherein the device is rotated appropriately/upside-down from the orientation shown in Fig. 10) under the first dielectric layer, the second dielectric layer comprising a second dielectric having a second refractive index (dielectric layers 26a-c inherently comprise a first dielectric material and inherently have a refractive index); a waveguide layer (Figs. 7 and 10, core material 32) over the second dielectric layer and between sidewalls of the first dielectric layer, and wherein the waveguide layer has a third refractive index (the core material inherently has a refractive index), Hornbeck further disclosesa first cladding layer (Figs. 7 and 10, cap layer adjacent to core 32; as applied to claims 14 and 15, U-shaped graded refractive layer adjacent to dielectric layers 26a and 26b) between the sidewalls of the first dielectric layer, the first cladding layer comprising a third material having a fourth refractive index (the first cladding layer inherently has a refractive index); and a second cladding layer (Figs. 7 and 10, U-shaped graded refractive layer adjacent to core 32; as applied to claims 14-15, Fig. 10, cap layer adjacent to dielectric 26c) between sidewalls of the second dielectric layer, the second cladding layer comprising the third material having the fourth refractive index (see col. 4, lines 28-45), wherein a difference between the third refractive index (of the waveguide layer) and the fourth refractive index (of the first cladding) is less than a difference between the third refractive index (of the waveguide layer) and the first refractive index (of the first dielectric layer; see col. 10, lines 10-15) and less than a difference between the third refractive index (of the waveguide layer) and the second refractive index (of the second dielectric layer; see col. 10, lines 10-15).
Hornbeck fails to teach that the waveguide layer is a semiconductor waveguide layer, which is interpreted as requiring the waveguide layer to comprise a semiconductor material. However, Hornbeck does state that the disclosed processing techniques are employed in creating IC-like structures and involve damascene semiconductor fabrication techniques, suggesting the inclusion of semiconductor materials in the device (see col. 7, lines 3-10). Additionally, Hornbeck teaches selecting materials for the core, cladding, and dielectric materials based on the desired refractive index profile (see col. 4, lines 9-20). Examiner takes Official Notice that silicon, a semiconductor, is a very well-known waveguide core material.
Rasras, also related to optical waveguides having multiple layers of cladding with the refractive index of each layer decreasing away from the core (see Rasras abstract), teaches using silicon, a semiconductor material, for the waveguide core (see Rasras paragraph 0023). It has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416. Since silicon was a well-known suitable material for a waveguide core, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to use silicon as the core material in the Hornbeck device based on its refractive index and its suitability for semiconductor and IC fabrication processes.
While Hornbeck also fails to teach that the third material is a dielectric material, Examiner takes Official Notice that dielectric cladding layers are well-known in the art. Further, Rasras teaches two dielectric materials for the two graded index cladding layers surrounding the silicon waveguide core (see paragraphs 0023 and 0024, silicon oxide and silicon nitride). It has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416. Since silicon oxide and silicon nitride are well-known suitable waveguide cladding materials having different refractive indices both lower than silicon, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use either of them as third materials in the modified Hornbeck device based on their refractive indices and suitability for known semiconductor and IC fabrication processes.
Hornbeck also fails to teach that the semiconductor waveguide layer comprises a first segment and a second segment, wherein a width of the first segment is tapered along a length of the first segment to a tip, and that the first cladding layer is disposed on opposite sides of the first segment and the tip, and directly over the first segment and the tip, and that the second cladding layer is directly under the first segment and the tip. However, Rasras teaches such a structure, in addition to having the graded refractive index cladding layers (Figs. 1A-1B, core 110, mode expanding layer 125, and cladding layer 120; see paragraph 0021), that provides mode conversion between an optical fiber and an integrated circuit device (see Figs. 1A-1B, optical-mode converter structure 105, integrated circuit 147, and optical fiber 150) with low loss (see Rasras paragraphs 0015 and 0027-0030). Specifically, Rasras teaches a semiconductor waveguide layer (Rasras Figs. 1a-1b, core 110) having a first segment (see tapered segment on the right region of the device in Rasras Fig. 1A, up to the vertical line near the arrows 164 and 162) and a second segment (see straight segment on the left region of the device in Rasras Fig. 1A, up to the same vertical line), wherein a width of the first segment is tapered along a length of the first segment to a tip (Rasras Fig. 1A shows this), and a graded index cladding is disposed on opposite sides of the first segment and the tip (Rasras Fig. 1A-1B shows this), and directly over the first segment and the tip (Rasras Fig. 1B shows this).
In order to provide mode expansion with low coupling loss while coupling light form an optical fiber into components of the integrated circuit, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to further modify the Hornbeck device such that the semiconductor waveguide layer comprises a first segment and a second segment, wherein a width of the first segment is tapered along a length of the first segment to a tip, and that the first cladding layer is disposed on opposite sides of the first segment and the tip, and directly over the first segment and the tip. In making this modification, it would be obvious to provide the second cladding layer directly under the first segment and the tip, since Hornbeck teaches providing the graded refractive layers on all sides of the semiconductor waveguide to surround it and reduce loss (see col. 6, lines 50-end).
Regarding claim 13: Modified Hornbeck teaches The semiconductor structure of claim 12 (as applied above), wherein the tip and the first segment are directly between the first cladding layer and the second cladding layer (in the modified Hornbeck device, the tip and the first segment correspond to the semiconductor waveguide layer of Hornbeck Figs. 7 and 10, wherein the semiconductor waveguide layer is directly between the first cladding layer and the second cladding layer).
Regarding claim 14: Modified Hornbeck teachesThe semiconductor structure of claim 12 (as applied above), further comprising: a buffer layer (Hornbeck Fig. 10, considering the device rotated upside-down from the orientation shown in Fig. 10, U-shaped graded refractive layer adjacent to core 32) directly between the first cladding layer and the semiconductor waveguide layer (Hornbeck Fig. 10 shows this).
Regarding claim 15: Modified Hornbeck teachesThe semiconductor structure of claim 14 (as applied above), wherein a thickness of the buffer layer is less than a thickness of the first cladding layer (considering the thickness to be the maximal vertical height of the respective buffer layer and first cladding layer identified in Hornbeck Fig. 10, the thickness of the layer adjacent the core 32 is less than that of the layer adjacent the dielectric 26).
Regarding claim 21: Modified Hornbeck teachesAn integrated chip (Figs. 7 and 10) comprising: a first dielectric layer (Figs. 7 and 10, dielectric 26c; as applied to claims 22-26, portion of dielectric 26 including 26a and 26b) comprising a first dielectric; a second dielectric layer (Figs. 7 and 10, portion of dielectric 26 including 26a and 26b; as applied to claims 22-26, dielectric 26c, wherein the device is rotated appropriately/upside-down from the orientation shown in Fig. 10) comprising a second dielectric under the first dielectric layer; a first cladding layer (Figs. 7 and 10, cap layer adjacent to core 32; as applied to claims 22-26, U-shaped graded refractive layer adjacent to dielectric layers 26a and 26b) comprising a third material, different than the first dielectric (see Hornbeck col. 3, lines 57-62 and see col. 8, lines 15-25), over the second dielectric layer and laterally between a first sidewall and a second sidewall of the first dielectric layer (Figs. 7 and 10 show this); a second cladding layer (Figs. 7 and 10, U-shaped graded refractive layer adjacent to core 32; as applied to claims 22-26, Fig. 10, cap layer adjacent to dielectric 26c) comprising a fourth material, different than the second dielectric (see Hornbeck col. 3, lines 57-62 and see col. 8, lines 15-25), under the first cladding layer and the first dielectric layer and laterally between a first sidewall and a second sidewall of the second dielectric layer (Figs. 7 and 10 show this); and a waveguide layer (Figs. 7 and 10, core material 32) under the first cladding layer, over the second cladding layer, between the first sidewall and the second sidewall of the first dielectric layer, and between a first sidewall and a second sidewall of the first cladding layer (Figs. 7 and 10 show this).
Hornbeck fails to teach that the waveguide layer is a semiconductor waveguide layer, which is interpreted as requiring the waveguide layer to comprise a semiconductor material. However, Hornbeck does state that the disclosed processing techniques are employed in creating IC-like structures and involve damascene semiconductor fabrication techniques, suggesting the inclusion of semiconductor materials in the device (see col. 7, lines 3-10). Additionally, Hornbeck teaches selecting materials for the core, cladding, and dielectric materials based on the desired refractive index profile (see col. 4, lines 9-20). Examiner takes Official Notice that silicon, a semiconductor, is a very well-known waveguide core material. Rasras, also related to optical waveguides having multiple layers of cladding with the refractive index of each layer decreasing away from the core (see Rasras abstract), teaches using silicon, a semiconductor material, for the waveguide core (see Rasras paragraph 0023). It has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416. Since silicon was a well-known suitable material for a waveguide core, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to use silicon as the core material in the Hornbeck device based on its refractive index and its suitability for semiconductor and IC fabrication processes.
While Hornbeck fails to teach that the third material and the fourth material are dielectric materials, Examiner takes Official Notice that dielectric cladding layers are well-known in the art. Further, Rasras teaches two dielectric materials for the two graded index cladding layers surrounding the silicon waveguide core (see Rasras paragraphs 0023 and 0024, silicon oxide and silicon nitride). It has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416. Since silicon oxide and silicon nitride are well-known suitable waveguide cladding materials having different refractive indices both lower than silicon, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use them as the third and fourth dielectric materials in the modified Hornbeck device based on their refractive indices and suitability for known semiconductor and IC fabrication processes.
Regarding claim 22: Modified Hornbeck teachesThe integrated chip of claim 21 (as applied above), wherein the first cladding layer has a lower surface extending from a first sidewall to the second sidewall of the first cladding layer (Hornbeck Fig. 10, rotated to be upside-down with respect to the orientation shown, surface of middle segment of U-shaped cladding layer extends from the first segment to the last segment, which are first sidewalls and second sidewalls of the cladding layer), wherein the semiconductor waveguide layer is directly between the lower surface of the first cladding layer and a top surface of the second cladding layer (Hornbeck Fig. 10 shows this), and wherein the semiconductor waveguide layer is directly between the first sidewall and the second sidewall of the first cladding layer (Hornbeck Fig. 10 shows this).
Regarding claim 23: Modified Hornbeck teachesThe integrated chip of claim 22 (as applied above), wherein the top surface of the second cladding layer extends directly under the semiconductor waveguide layer (Hornbeck Fig. 10, top surface of cap layer, with the device rotated to be upside-down with respect to the orientation shown) and directly under the first sidewall and the second sidewall of the first cladding layer (Hornbeck Fig. 10 shows this, with the left segment of the U-shaped cladding layer being the first sidewall and the right segment of the U-shaped cladding layer being the second sidewall).
Regarding claim 24: Modified HornbeckThe integrated chip of claim 22 (as applied above), further comprising: a buffer layer (Hornbeck Fig. 10, considering the device rotated upside-down from the orientation shown in Fig. 10, U-shaped graded refractive layer adjacent to core 32) extending directly between the lower surface of the first cladding layer and an upper surface of the semiconductor waveguide layer (Hornbeck Fig. 10 shows this), directly between the first sidewall of the first cladding layer and a first sidewall of the semiconductor waveguide layer (Hornbeck Fig. 10 shows this), and directly between the second sidewall of the first cladding layer and a second sidewall of the semiconductor waveguide layer (Hornbeck Fig. 10 shows this).
Regarding claim 25: Modified Hornbeck teachesThe integrated chip of claim 24 (as applied above), wherein the buffer layer comprises a fifth material different than the third dielectric and the fourth dielectric (see Hornbeck col. 3, line 57-col. 4, line 46 and see col. 8, lines 15-25)
Regarding claim 26:
Modified Hornbeck teaches the integrated chip of claim 22 (as applied above). Hornbeck fails to teach the integrated chip, wherein a tapered section of the semiconductor waveguide layer is between a device section of the semiconductor waveguide layer and a tip of the semiconductor waveguide layer, wherein the second dielectric layer is under the device section, the tapered section, the first cladding layer, and the first dielectric layer, and wherein the second cladding layer is beside the second dielectric layer, under the first cladding layer, under the tip, and under the tapered section.
However, Rasras teaches such a structure, in addition to having the graded refractive index cladding layers (Figs. 1A-1B, core 110, mode expanding layer 125, and cladding layer 120; see paragraph 0021), that provides mode conversion between an optical fiber and an Integrated circuit device (see Figs. 1A-1B, optical-mode converter structure 105, integrated circuit 147, and optical fiber 150) with low loss (see Rasras paragraphs 0015 and 0027-0030). Specifically, Rasras teaches a semiconductor waveguide layer (Rasras Figs. 1a-1b, core 110) having a tapered section (see tapered segment on the right region of the device in Rasras Fig. 1A, up to the vertical line near the arrows 164 and 162) and a device section (see straight segment on the left region of the device in Rasras Fig. 1A, up to the same vertical line), and a tip of the semiconductor waveguide layer (see tip of tapered section on the right side of the device in Rasras Fig. 1A), and a graded index cladding is disposed on opposite sides of the first segment and the tip (Rasras Fig. 1A-1B shows this), and directly over the first segment and the tip (Rasras Fig. 1B shows this).
In order to provide mode expansion with low coupling loss while coupling light form an optical fiber into components of the integrated circuit, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to further modify the Hornbeck device such that the a tapered section of the semiconductor waveguide layer is between a device section of the semiconductor waveguide layer and a tip of the semiconductor waveguide layer. In making this modification, it would be obvious to provide the second cladding layer and the under the device section, the tapered section, the first cladding, and the first dielectric layer, and to provide the second layer beside the second dielectric layer, under the first cladding layer, under the tip, and under the tapered section, since Hornbeck teaches providing the graded refractive layers on all sides of the semiconductor waveguide to surround it and reduce loss (see col. 6, lines 50-end).
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hornbeck et al. (US Patent No. 6,775,453; hereinafter Hornbeck) in view of Rasras (US 2009/0252456; hereinafter Rasras) and further in view of Malik et al. (US 2023/0244034; hereinafter Malik).
Modified Hornbeck teaches the semiconductor structure of claim 1, as applied above. Hornbeck further teaches that conductive interconnects are disposed in the layers above the substrate 24, connecting to electronic components in the substrate 24, and are separated from each other by portions of the dielectric material 26 in layers 26a-c (see col. 5, lines 20-36). Malik, also related to IC devices with waveguides and electronic components (see Malik abstract and Fig. 1), teaches providing a plurality of conductive interconnects directly over a waveguide and its cladding in order to provide the waveguide with active functionality such as light generation, amplification, modulation, and/or detection (see Malik paragraphs 0027, 0042, and Fig. 1). In order to actively control light propagating in the semiconductor waveguide layer for light generation, amplification, modulation, and/or detection, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the Hornbeck device by including a plurality of conductive interconnects directly over the semiconductor waveguide layer, the first cladding layer, and the second cladding layer, since providing conductive interconnects was disclosed by Hornbeck and since Malik taught that providing interconnects directly over waveguides and their cladding allows one to control the light propagating through the waveguide.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4 and 27 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim 4: The closest found prior art, Hornbeck and Rasras, fails to teach or suggest: The semiconductor structure of claim 3, wherein the second cladding layer contacts a bottom surface of the semiconductor waveguide layer and the second dielectric layer contacts the bottom surface of the semiconductor waveguide layer.
Therefore, claim 4 would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Regarding claim 27: The closest found prior art, Hornbeck and Rasras, fails to teach or suggest: The integrated chip of claim 26, wherein the second cladding layer contacts the semiconductor waveguide layer at the tip and the tapered section, and wherein the second dielectric layer contacts the semiconductor waveguide layer at the tapered section and the device section.
Therefore, claim 27 would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
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/KIRSTEN D. ENDRESEN/Examiner, Art Unit 2874
/THOMAS A HOLLWEG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2874
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