Appeal No. 2005-0813
Application No. 09/871,492
OPINION
The examiner finds that Lebby discloses a VCSEL comprising a
substrate (12), a first mirror (14) adjacent the substrate, an
active region (20) including one or more quantum wells (35, 36),
with the quantum wells formed of InGaAsN, a second mirror
adjacent to the active region, with the laser emitting light at a
wavelength of 1300 nm (Answer, page 4). The examiner further
finds that the first and second mirrors are unipolar distributed
Bragg reflectors that are doped n-type (id.). Accordingly, the
examiner finds that “Lebby shows all of the elements of the
claims except the tunnel junction included in the second mirror
(id., italics added). Therefore the examiner applies Brillouet
for the teaching of employing a tunnel junction in the second
mirror stack of a VCSEL for injecting holes into the active
region, and allowing the pumping current to be conducted from the
top mirror to the active region without a potential drop (Answer,
pages 4-5). From these findings, the examiner concludes that it
would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at
the time appellants’ invention was made “to modify the second
mirror of the laser described in Lebby by adding tunnel junction
layer as taught by Brillouet to allow the pumping current to be
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