DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim(s) 1-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a1).
Claim Objections
Claims 7 and 9 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 7 recites the limitation of “two adjacent the straight waveguide portions”. The limitation appears to contain a typographical error.
Claim 9 recites the limitation of “the second optical coupling regions”. However, the limitation lacks antecedent basis within the claim, as only one second coupling region has been introduced.
Appropriate correction is required.
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) 1-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a1) as being anticipated by US Publication 2014/0085633 to Preston et al.
In regards to claims 1-4, Preston discloses and shows in Figures 2-3 and 6-8, an optical integrated chip integrated with a silicon substrate (Figure 8) (Par. 15, 59-61, 98), comprising:
a wavelength multiplexer/demultiplexer (52) having a first optical coupling region (first surface of the dispersive element; coupled to the input fiber 22i) and at least one second optical coupling region (output surface of the dispersive element; 22o; coupled to the waveguide array inputs) opposite to each other (Figures 3, 6, 8) (Par. 78, 84, 98);
a first light guiding element (22i, Input light optical fiber; 58, drop port input) optically coupled to the wavelength multiplexer/demultiplexer through the first optical coupling region thereof (par. 84, 92, 98; wherein the dispersive element has an input light fiber, or drop port input fiber, which is coupled to a first surface of the dispersive element); and
a plurality of second light guiding elements (24; waveguide array) optically coupled to the wavelength multiplexer/demultiplexer through the second optical coupling region thereof (Figures 3, 6, 8) (Par. 79, 84-85, 92, 98; wherein an Arrayed Waveguide Grating AWG is coupled to a second surface of a dispersive element);
[claim 2] further comprising at least one tunable optical filter (30) (Figure 7-8), wherein the tunable optical filter further comprises:
an optical filter (50, optical resonator) optically coupled to the first optical coupling region of the wavelength multiplexer/demultiplexer, wherein the optical filter is configured to receive a broadband light beam from the first light guiding element and filter the broadband light beam, thereby outputting a filtered light beam (Par. 25, 27, 36-37, 93-95; wherein a plurality of well-known optical filters are disclosed); and
a modulation device coupled to the optical filter and configured to adjust a characteristic of the optical filter, thereby adjusting optical characteristics of sub-light beams of the filtered light beam (par. 95, 98; wherein the filter is coupled to an integrated thin-film heater; Par. 27; wherein the various disclosed filter types are known to include modulators to adjust an output frequency);
[claim 3] wherein the modulation device modulates the characteristic of the optical filter, such that peak wavelengths of sub-light beams of the filtered light beam are shifted (par. 25, 27, 98; wherein an optical comb filter, which outputs a plurality of wavelength peaks, is modulated by a thin-film heater, to obtain desired output frequencies and spacing; further the various disclosed filter types are known to include modulators to adjust an output frequency);
[claim 4] wherein the modulation device comprises a temperature modulation device, wherein the temperature modulation device is configured to adjust temperature of the optical filter (par. 95, 98; wherein the filter is coupled to an integrated thin-film heater).
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Preston in view of US Patent 9,819,435 to Lipson et al.
In regards to claim 5, Preston differs from the limitations in that it is silent to the optical integrated chip, wherein:
the at least one tunable optical filter further comprises a first and a second tunable optical filters, wherein the first and second tunable optical filters receive the broadband light beam through the first light guiding element;
the first tunable optical filter filters the broadband light beam and outputs a first filtered light beam to the wavelength multiplexer/demultiplexer through the first optical coupling region thereof; and
the second tunable optical filter filters the broadband light beam and output a second filtered light beam to the wavelength multiplexer/demultiplexer through the second optical coupling region thereof (See applicant’s Figure 2b).
However, Lipson teaches and shows in Figure 3, a serial arrangement of optical filters and demultiplexers, wherein a single optical input is provided, in series, to a plurality of optical filters, and wherein each filtered optical signal is subsequently provided to a separate optical demultiplexer to be separated into a plurality of separate wavelength channels (col. 4, ll. 37 to col. 5, ll. 36).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the invention, to modify Preston to include the serial arrangement of optical filters and demultiplexers discussed above for the advantage of providing a high resolution, wide spectral range optical apparatus (abstract), with a reasonable expectation of success.
Claim(s) 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Preston and Lipson in view of US Patent 5,546,483 to Inoue et al.
In regards to claim 6, Preston and Lipson differ from the limitations in that it is silent to the apparatus further comprising:
[claim 6] wherein the first optical coupling region is optically coupled to a plurality third light guiding elements, the second light guiding elements extend to a first side of the wavelength multiplexer/demultiplexer, the third light guiding elements extend to a second side of the wavelength multiplexer/demultiplexer opposite to the first side, wherein, the first filtered light beam is transmitted to the first side through the wavelength multiplexer/demultiplexer and the second light guiding elements, and the second filtered light beam is transmitted to the second side through the wavelength multiplexer/demultiplexer and the third light guiding elements (See applicant’s Figure 2b).
However, Inoue teaches and shows in Figures 5, 15 and 20-21, an integrated optical waveguide circuit, wherein the circuit may be comprised of multiple different configurations of: a plurality of slab optical waveguides (401, 402) (applicant’s plurality of coupling regions); a plurality of arrayed fiber bindles (302, 303, 305) (applicant’s second and third guiding elements); and a plurality of input fiber bundles (304, 304a) (applicant’s plurality of filtered input signals). The various configurations providing the functions of a combined optical power splitter and optical wavelength routing (col. 10, ll. 43 to col. 11, ll. 26).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the invention, to modify Preston and Lipson to include the integrated optical waveguide circuit configurations discussed above for the advantage of providing an optical circuit with the combined functions of an optical power splitter and wavelength routing, with a reasonable expectation of success.
Claim(s) 7-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Preston, in view of US Patent 8,351,043 to Cheben et al.
In regards to claims 7-8, Preston discloses and shows in Figures 3, 6 and 8, an integrated optical spectrometer, that utilizes an Arrayed Waveguide Grating AWG (22, 24) comprising a plurality of waveguide channels, wherein the “width of the waveguides” can be tailored or designed to meet desired bandwidth specifications (par. 15, 22, 69, 78-79, 84-85).
Preston differs from the limitations in that it is silent to the optical integrated chip:
[claim 7] wherein each of the channel waveguides comprises a plurality of straight waveguide portions and a plurality of bending waveguide portions, wherein two adjacent straight waveguide portions is connected by one of the bending waveguide portions, and a width of the straight waveguide portion is different from that of the bending waveguide portion;
[claim 8] wherein from a top view of the optical integrated chip, the straight waveguide portions and the bending waveguide portions collectively form a Z-like shaped arrayed waveguide grating.
However, Cheben teaches and shows in Figures 8-10, a miniaturized spectrometer that utilizes an AWG, wherein the AWG is comprised of a plurality of straight waveguide portions (50), which include input tapers (26, 46), and bend waveguide sections (52), and wherein the waveguides form a z-shape (Figure 9) (col. 8, ll. 40 to col. 9, ll. 17).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the invention, to modify Preston to include the AWG configuration discussed above for the advantage of controlling or obtaining desired light coupling conditions in the AWG, with a reasonable expectation of success.
Claim(s) 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Preston, in view of US Publication 2017/0071510 to Delbeke.
In regards to claim 9, Preston differs from the limitations in that it is silent to the optical integrated chip, wherein the wavelength multiplexer/demultiplexer further comprises a primary-stage arrayed waveguide grating having the first optical coupling region and a plurality of secondary-stage arrayed waveguide gratings having the second optical coupling regions, wherein the primary arrayed waveguide grating is optically coupled to each of the secondary arrayed waveguide gratings.
However, Delbeke teaches and shows in Figure 8, an integrated spectrometer for spectral measurements, wherein an increased number of channels may be obtained by cascading AWG demultiplexers together, wherein a first AWG demultiplexer (810) is utilized to provide light to a plurality of second AWG demultiplexers (820) (par. 105).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the invention, to modify Preston to include the cascaded AWG configuration discussed above for the advantage of increasing the number of detection channels, with a reasonable expectation of success.
Claim(s) 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Preston, in view of US Publication 2017/0227469 to Day.
In regards to claim 10, Preston discloses and shows in Figures 2-3 and 6-8, a high resolution low-cost integrated handheld miniature spectrometer system (10), configured to detect an object (18a), comprising:
a light source (12) configured to emit an optical signal (par. 20, 69, 70, 93);
a splitter (14) coupled to the light source, the splitter configured to split the optical signal into a first and a second portions (par. 20, 69, 71, 93);
a reference arm (16) coupled to the splitter to receive the first portion of the optical signal to generate a reference optical signal (par. 20, 69, 72, 93);
a sample arm (18) coupled to the splitter to receive the second portion of the optical signal and guides the second portion of the optical signal to the object, wherein the second portion of the optical signal is reflected by the objected to generate a sample optical signal (par. 20, 69, 73, 93);
a spectrometer (20) coupled to the splitter to receive an interference optical signal resulting from a combination of the reference optical signal and the sample optical signal, wherein the spectrometer comprises an optical integrated chip integrated with a silicon substrate (par. 20, 69, 77, 93, 100), and the optical integrated chip comprises:
a wavelength multiplexer/demultiplexer (52) having a first optical coupling region (first surface of the dispersive element; coupled to the input fiber 22i) and at least one second optical coupling region (output surface of the dispersive element; 22o; coupled to the waveguide array inputs) opposite to each other (Figures 3, 6, 8) (Par. 78, 84, 98);
a first light guiding element (22i, Input light optical fiber; 58, drop port input) optically coupled to the wavelength multiplexer/demultiplexer through the first optical coupling region thereof (par. 84, 92, 98; wherein the dispersive element has an input light fiber, or drop port input fiber, which is coupled to a first surface of the dispersive element); and
a plurality of second light guiding elements (24; waveguide array) optically coupled to the wavelength multiplexer/demultiplexer through the second optical coupling region thereof (Figures 3, 6, 8) (Par. 79, 84-85, 92, 98; wherein an Arrayed Waveguide Grating AWG is coupled to a second surface of a dispersive element);
at least one optical sensor (26) configured to receive and convert the interference optical signal processed by the optical integrated chip into an electrical signal (par. 20, 69, 80, 93); and
a processor (28) coupled to the optical sensor and configured to receive the electrical signal, such that the processor generates an image based on the electrical signal (par. 20, 69, 77, 83, 93).
Preston differs from the limitations in that it is silent to the apparatus further comprising:
a handheld miniature spectrometer system, configured to detect an object having a shell comprising a main body portion and a handle grip portion extending from the main body portion.
However, Day teaches and shows in Figures 1-3, a handheld spectrometer device (10) with a housing (12), enclosing all of the optical and electronic components of the system (par. 3, 32).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the invention, to modify Preston to include the handheld housing discussed above for the advantage of providing a portable spectrometer device capable of in-situ measurements at remote locations, with a reasonable expectation of success.
Conclusion
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JONATHAN M. HANSEN
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2877
/JONATHAN M HANSEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2877