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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-7, 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Kumar (US 20210278708).
Regarding claim 1, Kumar discloses a method for forming a plurality of electro-optic devices (methods for fabricating photonic devices such as electro-optical switches and phase shifters; ¶ 0005), comprising: forming at least one electro-optic layer or waveguide over a first substrate (an electrode layer is deposited on a substrate layer; abstract); forming a cladding layer over the at least one electro-optic layer or waveguide (a waveguide structure is deposited on the electrode layer, a first cladding layer is deposited on the waveguide structure; abstract); bonding a second substrate over the cladding layer (the first cladding layer is planarized and bonded to a wafer (second substrate); abstract); and removing the first substrate (the substrate layer is then removed; abstract).
Regarding claim 2, Kumar discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the forming at least one electro-optic layer or waveguide comprises forming the electro-optic layer over the first substrate (the electro-optic layer is deposited over a substrate 1302; ¶ 0101).
Regarding claim 3, Kumar discloses the method of claim 2, further comprising forming the waveguide over the electro-optic layer (etching the electro-optic layer 1306 to produce a ridge waveguide 1318; ¶ 0106).
Regarding claim 4, Kumar discloses the method of claim 3, further comprising forming a seed layer over the first substrate, wherein the electro-optic layer is formed on the seed layer (depositing a seed layer 1304 on a substrate layer 1302; ¶ 0101).
Regarding claim 5, Kumar discloses the method of claim 4, wherein the electro-optic layer comprises barium titanate and the seed layer comprises strontium titanate (the electro-optic layer may be composed of barium titanate; the seed layer may be composed of
strontium titanate; ¶s 0091, 0092).
Regarding claim 6, Kumar discloses a method for forming a plurality of different types of electro-optic devices in a single process (improved methods for the fabrication process of various electro-optical device architectures; ¶ 0087), comprising: forming a multilayer
structure over a first substrate, the multilayer structure comprising a seed layer and an electro-optic layer (a seed layer is deposited on a substrate layer, an electro-optic layer is deposited on the seed layer, a first cladding layer is deposited on the electro-optic layer; ¶ 0009);
and patterning the multilayer structure to form the plurality of different types of electro-optic devices (etching the seed layer may be performed to expose a portion of the electro-optic layer, wherein etching may be performed to make an electro-optic device of a different architecture; ¶ 0098).
Regarding claim 7, Kumar discloses the method of claim 6, wherein the multilayer structure further comprises a first cladding layer and a silicon nitride layer (one variation of device architecture includes a first cladding layer, and a waveguide structure composed of a first
material which may be silicon nitride; Claim 1, Claim 2, ¶ 0007).
Regarding claim 10, Kumar discloses the method of claim 6, wherein the electro-optic layer comprises barium titanate and the seed layer comprises strontium titanate (the electro-optic layer may be composed of barium titanate; the seed layer may be composed of
strontium titanate; ¶s 0091, 0092).
Claim(s) 1-2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Kuo et al. (US 20210389526; “Kuo”).
Regarding claim 1, Kuo discloses a method for forming a plurality of electro-optic devices (e.g., ¶ 0001; figs. 3-7), comprising: forming at least one electro-optic layer or waveguide 126 over a first substrate 100 (e.g., fig. 3); forming a cladding layer A over the at least one electro-optic layer or waveguide 126 (e.g., fig. 6); bonding a second substrate C over the cladding layer A (e.g., fig. 6); and removing the first substrate 100 (e.g., go from fig. 6 to fig. 7; ¶ 0022).
Thus claim 1 is met.
Regarding claim 2, Kuo method of claim 1 (see above), wherein the forming at least one electro-optic layer or waveguide comprises forming the electro-optic layer over the first substrate 100 (e.g., ¶ 0014: the layer 120/120’/120” “further includes electric device regions for forming semiconductor devices (not shown), such as metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs), capacitors, inductors, resistors and so on”).
Thus claim 2 is met.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 11-15 are allowed.
Claims 8-10 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 prior art, either alone or in combination, does not disclose or render obvious a fourth electro-optic device located in a fourth region over the substrate, wherein: the first electro-optic device comprises a first silicon nitride waveguide and a continuous seed layer between first and second electrodes; the second electro-optic device comprises a second silicon nitride waveguide and the seed layer that is divided into a first portion contacting a first electrode and a second portion contacting a second electrode; an electro-optic layer portion of the third device comprises a ridge portion and the seed layer of the fourth device is divided into a first portion contacting the first electrode and a second portion contacting the second electrode, and the electro-optic layer portion of the fourth device comprises a ridge portion in combination with the rest of claim 11.
It is noted that claim 11 is allowable because the unique combination of each and every specific element stated in the claim.
The prior art, either alone or in combination, does not disclose or render obvious patterning the silicon nitride layer to form a first silicon nitride waveguide core and a second waveguide core, respectively, in first and second regions; patterning the seed layer and the electro-optic layer to generate separate first, second, third and fourth portions in the first region, the second region, in a third region, and in a fourth region, respectively; forming a second cladding layer over the first region, the second region, the third region, and the fourth region; bonding the multilayer structure to a second substrate; removing the first substrate; patterning the seed layer in the second region and in the third region but not in the first or the fourth regions such that the seed layer is divided into two portions in each of the second region and the third region; and forming a first electrode and a second electrode in each of the first region, the second region, the third region, and the fourth region to thereby form a first electro-optic device in the first region, a second electro-optic device in the second region, a third electro-optic device in the third region, and a fourth electro-optic device in the fourth region in combination with the rest of claim 8.
It is noted that claim 8 is allowable because the unique combination of each and every specific element stated in the claim.
The prior art, either alone or in combination, does not disclose or render obvious the electro-optic layer comprises barium titanate and the seed layer comprises strontium titanate in combination with the rest of claim 10.
It is noted that claim 10 is allowable because the unique combination of each and every specific element stated in the claim.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Mr. Michael Mooney whose telephone number is 571-272-2422. The examiner can normally be reached during weekdays, M-F.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Uyen-Chau Le can be reached on 571-272-2397. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Center. Should you have questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). For checking the filing status of an application, please refer to <https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/checking-application-status/check-filing-status-your-patent-application>.
/MICHAEL P MOONEY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2874
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