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 .
Remark
This Office Action is in response to applicant’s amendment filed on August 21, 2026, which has been entered into the file.
By this amendment, the applicant has amended claim 1.
Claims 1-13 remain pending in this application.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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) 1-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the US patent issued to Lin (PN. 9.864,141) in view of the US patent issued to Thaniyavarn (PN. 4,691,984) and US patent issued to Jie Lin (PN. 9,915,781).
Claim 1 has been amended to include new grounds of rejection.
Lin (‘141) teaches, with regard to claim 1, an optical element that is comprised of a SOI substrate, (1001, Figures 1B and 1C) including a main surface, and a core layer (110 or 120, Figures 1A-1C and 2), is provided on the main surface, wherein the core layer includes a mode converter configured to convert a polarization mode of light from a TM (TM0) mode to a TE (TE0) mode, (please see Figure 2). Lin (‘141) teaches that the mode converter includes a converter (please see Figure 2) serves as the conversion unit that is configured to convert the polarization mode of the light from the TM0 mode to a TE1 mode, (please see Figure 2), a splitter (121, please see Figure 2) serves as the splitter unit configured to split the light in the TE1 mode into a first split light in the TE0 mode and a second split light in the TE0 mode with a phase shifter (132) to adjust a phase between the first split light and the second split light and a multimode interference coupler (140, MMI) serves as the multiplexing unit configured to multiplex the first split light and the second split light, (please see Figures 1A-1C and 2).
Lin (‘141) teaches that conversion unit or the converter, (please see Figure 2) includes a first end or first plane (100) to which the light in the TM0 mode is incident and a second end or cross section plane (120) from which the light in the TE1 mode is emitted the first end and the second end being both ends in the first direction and a length of the conversion unit in a second direction along the main surface and intersecting the first direction continuously increases from the first end to the second end, (please see Figure 2). The phase difference is defined as the phase difference obtained by subtracting a phase of the first split light when incident to the multiplexing unit from a phase of the second split light when incident to the multiplex unit (140).
Lin (‘141) teaches that the splitter or the splitting unit includes a first branch wave guide (131) through which the first split light propagates and a second branch wave guide (132) through which the second split light propagates, (please see Figure 2, column 9, lines 15-28). The optical path length of the first split light in the first branch wave guide and an optical path length of the second split light in the second branch wave guide that may be different from each other.
This reference has met all the limitations of the claims. This reference does not teach explicitly that the core layer consists of a material having an electro-optic effect. Thaniyavarn in the same field of endeavor teaches a polarization converter that is consisted of material such as lithium niobate which has electrooptical effect, (please see column 10, lines 1-5). It would then have been obvious to one skilled in the art to apply the teachings of Thaniyavarn to modify the polarization conversion unit to use art well known material such as lithium niobate which has electrooptical effect. Since 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 used as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
These references do not teach explicitly that the light is visible light. Lin (‘141) teaches that eh incident light may have a broad spectrum, (please see column 1, lines 6-7). Thaniyavarn teaches that the polarization converter may be wavelength independent. It is within general level skilled in the art to modify the polarization conversion unit to be wavelength independent and therefore may be applied for visible light as desired.
Claim 1 has been amended to include the phrase “the mode converter includes a conversion unit, a splitting unit and a multiplexing unit that re arranged one after another in this order in a first direction along main surface”.
Lin (‘141) teaches that the mode converter includes a converter (please see Figure 2) serves as the conversion unit, a splitter (121, please see Figure 2) and a multimode interference coupler (140, MMI) serves as the multiplexing unit, that are arranged one after another in this order in the first direction along main surface, (please see Figure 2).
Claim 1 has been amended to include the phrase “a conversion unit has a width in a second direction along the main surface, the second surface intersecting the first direction, the width continuously increasing from the first end all the way to the second end with the width increasing from a minimum value at the first end to a maximum value at the second end”.
Lin (‘141) teaches that the conversion unit (or converter, Figure 2) has a tapered top or rib (1011, please see Figure 1B) that has a width in a second direction along the main surface, the second surface intersecting the first direction, the width continuously increasing from the first end (100) all the way to the second end (120) with the width increasing from a minimum value (w1) at the first end to a maximum value (w2) at the second end. But it does not teach that the base structure (1012) has a width that increases continuously from first end to the second end.
Lin (‘781) in the same field of endeavor teaches an optical element that is comprised of a converter or conversion unit, a splitter and a multiplexing unit comprises (MMI, multimode interferometer) arranged in this order in a first direction along the main surface, (please see Figures 1A and 3). Lin (‘781) teaches specifically the conversion unit comprises a tapered top-layer (102) and a tapered bottom-layer each with a width in a second direction along the main surface, the second surface intersecting the first direction, the width continuously increasing from the first end (100) all the way to the second end (110) with the width increasing from a minimum value (w0) at the first end to a maximum value (w1) at the second end, (please column 7, lines 27-67).
It would then have been obvious to one skilled in the art to apply the teachings of Lin (‘781) to modify the conversion unit to have tapered top-layer and bottom-layer to have a width in the second direction that continuously increases from a minimum value at the first end all the way to a maximum value at the second end for the benefit of allowing the conversion unit to have a different design.
With regard to claim 2, Lin teaches that the phase difference between the first split light and the second split light may be 180 degrees (or p). These references do not teach that the phase difference is not as claimed. It is however within general skill in the art to design the phase difference between the first and second split lights to achieve the desired output light.
With regard to claim 3, Lin teaches that the core layer further includes a base (1012, Figure 1B) serves as the slab provided on the main surface and the mode converter (1011) is provided on the slab in a third direction intersecting the first direction and the second direction, (please see Figures 1A and 1B).
With regard to claim 4, Lin teaches that the thickness or the length of the core layer (h= hb+hr) assumes a value of 220 nm (please see column 8, lines 24-25) that is smaller than wavelength such as visible light.
With regard to claims 5 and 6, Lin et al teaches that the multiplexing unit (MMI coupler, please see Figure 2), which is a multimode interference coupler waveguide, (please see column 2, lines 46-47), that is a multimode interferometer. With regard to claim 6, this reference does not teach explicitly that the length of the multiplex unit in the second direction is 2.0 microns or more. However, this feature i.e. the size of the multiplexing unit is considered to be an obvious design choice to one skilled in the art.
With regard to claim 7, as shown in Figure 2, Lin teaches that the length of the first branch wave guide in the second direction at a connection end connected to the multiplexing unit of the first branch wave guide (131) is less than 50% of the of a length of the multiplexing unit in the second direction and the length of the second branch wave guide (132) in the second direction at a connection end connected to the multiplexing unit of the second branch wave guide is less than 50% of the of a length of the multiplexing unit in the second direction. Although these are not greater than 23% and less than 50%, such modifications are considered to be obvious matters of design choices to one skilled in the art.
With regard to claim 8, these references do not teach explicitly that the core layer include a first mode converter configured to convert polarization mode of red light, a second mode converter configured to convert polarization mode of green light and a third mode converter configured to convert polarization mode of blue light. However, such modification is considered to be obvious to one skilled in the art since this modification only involves duplicating the working part each is applied with light having a specific wavelength. The multiplexing unit is then configured to multiplex the different color lights.
With regard to claim 9, in view of Figures 1A to 1C, Lin teaches that a length of the first, second and third mode converters, respectively, in a third direction intersecting the first direction and the second direction may be designed to be the same.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 10-13 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: of the prior art references considered none has disclosed an optical element that is comprised of a core layer consists of a material having an electro-optic effect where the core layer includes a mode converter that is configured to covert a polarization mode of visible light from a TM0 mode to a TE0 mode, the mode converter includes a conversion unit, a splitting unit and a multiplexing unit, with full details recited in claim 1 and the core layer further comprises a modulator configured to modulate an optical intensity of the light, with full details recited in claim 10. In a different embodiment, the instant application also discloses a laser module including the optical element, with full details in claims 1 and 8, and further with first, second and third laser source each configured to emit red, green and blue light respective in the TM0 mode, as explicitly set forth in claim 11.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AUDREY Y CHANG whose telephone number is (571)272-2309. The examiner can normally be reached M-TH 9:00AM-4:30PM.
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AUDREY Y. CHANG
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2872
/AUDREY Y CHANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2872
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