Prior art — US Patent 10379301B2

To identify the most relevant prior art for US patent 10379301B2, we will examine the patent citations listed within the provided patent text. The priority date of US10379301B2 is 2016-05-23. Therefore, for a patent to be considered anticipatory prior art under 35 U.S.C. § 102, its publication or effective filing date must be prior to this date.

The core inventive aspects of US10379301B2 include:

An arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) with a top surface at its output end inclined at a predetermined angle (41-46 degrees, specifically 42 degrees in some claims) to reflect multi-channel optical signals to photosensitive surfaces of an array of optoelectronic diodes.
The optoelectronic diodes and the light receiving chip are disposed directly on the same top surface of an end of the carrier.
Simplified installation of the AWG using a placement groove or guiding structure, making direct coupling between the AWG and optoelectronic diodes unnecessary.

We will focus on the "Patent Citations" section of US10379301B2 and prioritize those marked with an asterisk (*) as "Cited by examiner," as these are generally considered more relevant by the patent office. For each relevant citation, the full citation, publication date, brief description, and potential anticipation under 35 U.S.C. § 102 are provided.

Most Relevant Prior Art for US10379301B2

Based on the publication dates prior to US10379301B2's priority date of 2016-05-23, and prioritizing examiner-cited references, the following are identified as most relevant:

US9341786B1 (Cited by examiner)
- Full Citation: US9341786B1 (en) - Lumentum Operations Llc - Optomechanical assembly for a photonic chip
- Publication Date: 2016-05-17
- Brief Description: This patent describes an optomechanical assembly for a photonic chip.
- Potential Anticipation: This patent's title suggests it addresses the physical arrangement and packaging of optical components, similar to the carrier and arrangement of the AWG and optoelectronic diodes in US10379301B2. It could potentially anticipate the general concept of an "optomechanical assembly" and the integration of optical elements on a carrier, as broadly described in Claim 1 related to the carrier and the disposition of components. However, without a detailed review of its content, it is unlikely to disclose the specific angled reflective output of an AWG to a diode array or the direct mounting of optoelectronic diodes and a light receiving chip on the same surface via such reflection.
US7162124B1 (Cited by examiner)
- Full Citation: US7162124B1 (en) - Luxtera, Inc. - Fiber to chip coupler
- Publication Date: 2007-01-09
- Brief Description: This patent describes a coupler for connecting an optical fiber to a chip.
- Potential Anticipation: This reference is relevant to the coupling of optical fibers to integrated optical components. It could broadly anticipate the "optical fiber connector disposed in an end of the carrier" and the "input end of the arrayed waveguide grating connected to the optical fiber connector" as described in Claim 1, and potentially mechanisms in Claim 5 (first lens for coupling) or Claim 6 (graded index lens for direct insertion). However, it is unlikely to disclose the core reflective output mechanism of the AWG in US10379301B2.
US20040161186A1 (Cited by examiner)
- Full Citation: US20040161186A1 (en) - Jds Uniphase Corporation, State Of Incorporation: Delaware - Planar lightwave circuit package
- Publication Date: 2004-08-19
- Brief Description: This patent describes a package for a planar lightwave circuit.
- Potential Anticipation: Given that an AWG is a type of planar lightwave circuit, this patent could broadly anticipate the packaging of such components on a carrier, as generally outlined in Claim 1. The term "package" suggests structural integration and arrangement of components, which might encompass the carrier and the placement of the AWG. However, it is not specific enough from the title to anticipate the unique angled reflection feature of the AWG's output or the direct arrangement of the optoelectronic diodes and light receiving chip.
US20030174964A1 (Cited by examiner)
- Full Citation: US20030174964A1 (en) - Photon-X, Inc. - Lens coupling fiber attachment for polymer optical waveguide on polymer substrate
- Publication Date: 2003-09-18
- Brief Description: This patent describes a method for attaching optical fibers using lens coupling to a polymer optical waveguide on a polymer substrate.
- Potential Anticipation: This reference is pertinent to the coupling of optical fibers to waveguides using lenses, which is a component of US10379301B2's input stage. It could potentially anticipate aspects of how the optical fiber connector interfaces with the AWG, including the use of lenses as detailed in Claim 5 or Claim 6. It does not appear to anticipate the specific angled reflection of the AWG output or the arrangement of the photodetectors.

Other Relevant Prior Art (Not examiner-cited, but with relevant titles and dates)

US5617234A
- Full Citation: US5617234A (en) - Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corporation - Multiwavelength simultaneous monitoring circuit employing arrayed-waveguide grating
- Publication Date: 1997-04-01
- Brief Description: This patent describes a multiwavelength monitoring circuit that uses an arrayed-waveguide grating.
- Potential Anticipation: This is highly relevant as it explicitly mentions an "arrayed-waveguide grating" and "multiwavelength," which are fundamental to US10379301B2's functionality of dividing optical signals into multi-channels based on wavelength. It could anticipate the concept of using an AWG for wavelength division multiplexing/demultiplexing, which is a core function described in Claim 1. The distinguishing feature for US10379301B2 would likely be the specific angled reflective output of the AWG and the direct arrangement of the optoelectronic diodes for receiving these reflected signals.
US7376308B2
- Full Citation: US7376308B2 (en) - National Research Council Of Canada - Optical off-chip interconnects in multichannel planar waveguide devices
- Publication Date: 2008-05-20
- Brief Description: This patent describes optical off-chip interconnects for multichannel planar waveguide devices.
- Potential Anticipation: The title's mention of "multichannel planar waveguide devices" and "optical off-chip interconnects" suggests this patent deals with the connection of multiple optical channels from a waveguide to other components, such as detectors. This could broadly anticipate the concept of interfacing the output of a multi-channel waveguide (like the AWG) with other elements. It may relate to the general coupling from the AWG to the optoelectronic diodes in Claim 1, but without specifying the unique angled reflection mechanism.
US7532783B2
- Full Citation: US7532783B2 (en) - Futurewei Technologies, Inc. - Method and system for integrated DWDM receivers
- Publication Date: 2009-05-12
- Brief Description: This patent describes a method and system for integrated DWDM (Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing) receivers.
- Potential Anticipation: "Integrated DWDM receivers" directly relates to the function of US10379301B2 as a multi-channel optical receiving device utilizing wavelength division. This patent could anticipate the overall architecture and function of an integrated multi-channel receiver. The novelty of US10379301B2 would reside in the specific optical coupling method via the angled reflective surface of the AWG output and the direct mounting of components. This could potentially anticipate the functional aspects of Claim 1, particularly concerning the division of optical signals based on wavelengths in an integrated receiver.
US20160131854A1
- Full Citation: US20160131854A1 (en) - Corning Optical Communications LLC - Fiber optic connector having a main connector body and a plurality of removable sub-connectors
- Publication Date: 2016-05-12
- Brief Description: This patent describes a fiber optic connector with a main body and multiple removable sub-connectors.
- Potential Anticipation: This patent specifically pertains to fiber optic connectors, which is a component in US10379301B2. It could anticipate aspects of the "optical fiber connector disposed in an end of the carrier" as described in Claim 1, or how the fiber connector is designed or connected. However, it is unlikely to anticipate the internal optical path within the device or the AWG reflection mechanism.

The remaining cited patents were either published after the priority date of US10379301B2 (2016-05-23) or have titles that are too broad or unrelated to the core innovative features of US10379301B2 to be considered highly relevant for anticipation under 35 U.S.C. § 102.