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 § 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) 1, 2, 5, 8, 9, 12, and 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kunne (PCT/EP2021/087073) in view of Pioro-Ladriere (US 2010/0270534).
Regarding claim 1, fig. 1, 3, 4, and 6 of Kunne discloses a quantum computer comprising: a gate electrode array [102, 103, 104] disposed on a semiconductor base [10]; a single-electron manufacturing unit [e.g. that controlling the gates of fig. 4 for transporting the electron] (par. 17) for extracting a single electron; and an electron transport path [4, which are shuttling lanes] including a branch and serving as a transport path of the single electron in the semiconductor base, wherein a path as a branch destination of the single electron is selected by controlling the gate electrode array. Kunne does not disclose where the semiconductor base is a crystal one. However, par. 6 of Pioro-Ladriere describes a quantum device with a semiconductor crystal substrate. In view of such teaching, it would have been obvious to the ordinary artisan before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention as indicated above by incorporating the crystal substrate as taught in Pioro-Ladriere for the purpose of utilizing a suitable and well-known type of semiconductor substrate.
Regarding claim 2, the combination as indicated above discloses wherein a path as a branch destination of the single electron is selected by synchronously applying at least two kinds of voltages to a gate electrode just before the branch to which the single electron moves and a gate electrode immediately after the branch (fig. 4 and 6 show voltage application to transport the electron).
Regarding claim 5, the combination as indicated above discloses wherein a path as a branch destination of the single electron is selected by synchronously applying at least two kinds of voltages to a gate electrode in the position of the branch to which the single electron moves and a gate electrode immediately after the branch (fig. 4 and 6 show voltage application to transport the electron).
Regarding claim 8, fig. 1, 3, 4, and 6 of Kunne discloses a quantum computer comprising: a gate electrode array [102, 103, 104] disposed on a semiconductor base [10]; a single-hole manufacturing unit [e.g. that controlling the gates of fig. 4 for transporting the hole] (par. 17) for extracting a single hole; and a hole transport path [4, which are shuttling lanes] including a branch and serving as a transport path of the single hole in the semiconductor base, wherein a path as a branch destination of the single hole is selected by controlling the gate electrode array. Kunne does not disclose where the semiconductor base is a crystal one. However, par. 6 of Pioro-Ladriere describes a quantum device with a semiconductor crystal substrate. In view of such teaching, it would have been obvious to the ordinary artisan before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention as indicated above by incorporating the crystal substrate as taught in Pioro-Ladriere for the purpose of utilizing a suitable and well-known type of semiconductor substrate.
Regarding claim 9, the combination as indicated above discloses wherein a path as a branch destination of the single hole is selected by synchronously applying at least two kinds of voltages to a gate electrode just before the branch to which the single hole moves and a gate electrode immediately after the branch (fig. 4 and 6 show voltage application to transport the hole).
Regarding claim 12, the combination as indicated above discloses wherein a path as a branch destination of the single hole is selected by synchronously applying at least two kinds of voltages to a gate electrode in the position of the branch to which the single hole moves and a gate electrode immediately after the branch (fig. 4 and 6 show voltage application to transport the hole).
Regarding claim 15, this claim is merely a method to operate the circuit having structure recited in claims 1, 2, 5, 8, 9, and 12. Since Kunne in view of Pioro-Ladriere above teaches the structure, the method to operate such a circuit is similarly disclosed.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3, 4, 6, 7, 10, 11, 13, and 14 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Levonian describes a protocol for optically entangling distinguishable qubits. Cohen describes a quantum processor with quantum programming field payloads.
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/SIBIN CHEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2836
