Contract analysis

I. INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE A. Identification of Appendix This document constitutes Appendix A to the Expert Report of Dr. Caroline Ashford ("Dr. Ashford" or "the Expert") regarding the infringement of United States Patent Nos. 10,234,847 (hereinafter, "the '847 Patent"), 10,891,193 (hereinafter, "the '193 Patent"), 9,678,562 (hereinafter, "the '562 Patent"), and 11,402,015 (hereinafter, "the '015 Patent") (collectiv

1. LumiLink 400G-ZR+ — A 400-gigabit coherent optical transceiver module designed to the OIF 400ZR+ Implementation Agreement for data-center interconnect and metro-network applications. The LumiLink 400G-ZR+ was commercially launched in the third quarter of 2022 (Q3 2022). According to Lumicore's audited financial statements and interrogatory responses, the LumiLink 400G-ZR+ generated fiscal-year 2023 ("FY 2023") rev

2. LumiLink 800G-DR8 — An 800-gigabit intensity-modulated optical transceiver module utilizing eight lanes of 100G-per-lane PAM4 signaling, designed for intra-data-center connectivity applications compliant with the IEEE 802.3df standard. The LumiLink 800G-DR8 was commercially launched in the first quarter of 2023 (Q1 2023). According to Lumicore's audited financial statements and interrogatory responses, the LumiLin

3. LumiEdge 1600G-LR — A 1.6-terabit long-reach optical transceiver module employing sixteen lanes of 100G-per-lane signaling for campus and enterprise backbone applications. The LumiEdge 1600G-LR was commercially launched in the fourth quarter of 2023 (Q4 2023), notably after both of OWS's pre-suit licensing letters sent through its licensing agent, FairPoint IP Solutions (dated January 15, 2023 and May 15, 2023, re

II. CLAIM CHARTS — U.S. PATENT NO. 10,234,847 ("THE '847 PATENT") A. Patent Background Summary Title: "Multi-Channel Silicon Photonic Waveguide Multiplexer with Low Insertion Loss" Application No.: 15/265,421 Filing Date: September 14, 2016 Issue Date: March 19, 2019 Original Assignee: Optiwave Semiconductor Corp. Current Assignee: Optiwave Semiconductor Corp. Named Inventors: Dr. Jian-Wei Huang, Dr. Priya Ramaswamy,

I. Claim Chart — Claim 9 (Dependent) vs. LumiLink 400G-ZR+ Claim 9 of the '847 Patent depends from Claim 1 (through Claim 7) and recites: "The multi-channel silicon photonic waveguide multiplexer of claim 7, further comprising means for compensating phase errors in the phased array of waveguides caused by fabrication-induced variations in the waveguide width." Note on Means-Plus-Function Construction: Claim 9 contain

III. CLAIM CHARTS — U.S. PATENT NO. 10,891,193 ("THE '193 PATENT") A. Patent Background Summary Title: "High-Bandwidth Coherent Optical Transceiver Integrated on Silicon Substrate" Application No.: 15/481,237 Filing Date: April 7, 2017 Issue Date: January 12, 2021 Original Assignee: Optiwave Semiconductor Corp. Current Assignee: Optiwave Semiconductor Corp. Named Inventors: Dr. Jian-Wei Huang, Dr. Priya Ramaswamy, an

I. Claim Chart — Claim 15 (Dependent) vs. Each Accused Product Claim 15 of the '193 Patent depends from Claim 1 (through Claim 13) and recites: "The coherent optical transceiver of claim 13, further comprising means for stabilizing the wavelength of the local oscillator laser source to within ±50 pm of a target wavelength." Note on Means-Plus-Function Construction: Claim 15 contains the term "means for stabilizing th

IV. CLAIM CHARTS — U.S. PATENT NO. 9,678,562 ("THE '562 PATENT") A. Patent Background Summary Title: "Method for Thermal Management of Photonic Integrated Circuits Using Embedded Micro-Channel Heat Sinks" Application No.: 14/551,089 Filing Date: November 22, 2014 Issue Date: June 13, 2017 Original Assignee: Solara Optics, Inc. Current Assignee: Optiwave Semiconductor Corp. The '562 Patent was originally assigned to S

I. Claim Chart — Claim 11 (Dependent) vs. LumiLink 400G-ZR+ Claim 11 of the '562 Patent depends from Claim 1 (through Claim 8) and recites: "The method of claim 8, further comprising monitoring a temperature of the photonic integrated circuit using at least one on-chip temperature sensor and adjusting a flow rate of the coolant based on the monitored temperature." J. Claim Chart — Claim 11 vs. LumiLink 800G-DR8 K. Su

V. CLAIM CHARTS — U.S. PATENT NO. 11,402,015 ("THE '015 PATENT") A. Patent Background Summary Title: "Polarization-Diverse Grating Coupler for Silicon Photonic Transceivers" Application No.: 16/556,812 Filing Date: August 30, 2019 Issue Date: August 2, 2022 Original Assignee: Optiwave Semiconductor Corp. Current Assignee: Optiwave Semiconductor Corp. Named Inventors: Dr. Jian-Wei Huang, Dr. Aisha Okonkwo, and Dr. Mar

I. Claim Chart — Claim 12 (Dependent) — Literal Infringement vs. LumiLink 800G-DR8 Claim 12 of the '015 Patent depends from Claim 1 (through Claim 10) and recites: "The polarization-diverse grating coupler of claim 10, further comprising a two-dimensional sub-wavelength grating region adjacent to the two-dimensional periodic pattern, the sub-wavelength grating region having feature sizes smaller than one-half of the

VI. ANNOTATED TEARDOWN PHOTOGRAPH INDEX A. Purpose This section provides a consolidated index of all annotated teardown photographs referenced throughout the claim charts in Sections II through V. Each photograph is identified by its Benchmark report reference number, its exhibit number in this litigation, and the specific claim chart section(s) in which it is cited. This index is intended to enable the reader to loc

VII. LUMICORE DESIGN-FILE EXCERPT INDEX A. Purpose This section provides a consolidated index of all Lumicore design-file excerpts referenced throughout the claim charts in Sections II through V. These design files constitute critical documentary evidence supporting Dr. Ashford's infringement opinions, as they provide direct evidence of the design intent, structural parameters, and functional specifications of the ac

VIII. DEPOSITION TESTIMONY CROSS-REFERENCE INDEX A. Purpose This section provides a consolidated index of all deposition testimony cited throughout the claim charts in Sections II through V, organized by deponent. For each cited excerpt, the index identifies the transcript page and line numbers, a summary of the testimony content, the claim chart section(s) in which the testimony is referenced, and the specific paten

IX. MASTER SUMMARY OF INFRINGEMENT FINDINGS A. Consolidated Infringement Matrix The following table provides a consolidated summary of Dr. Ashford's infringement findings across all four Asserted Patents, all asserted claims, and all three accused Lumicore products: *DOE = Doctrine of equivalents analysis presented in companion Appendix B. In total, Dr. Ashford finds literal infringement of twenty (20) patent-claim-p

1. Benchmark Semiconductor Analysis, LLC Teardown Reports and Annotated Photographs. Benchmark conducted three separate, independent teardowns covering all three accused Lumicore products (LumiLink 400G-ZR+, LumiLink 800G-DR8, and LumiEdge 1600G-LR). Each teardown produced detailed photographic documentation (optical micrographs, SEM images, cross-sectional SEM with EDS analysis) that directly identifies and visually

2. Lumicore Design Files, Engineering Specifications, and Photonic-IC Layout Files Produced in discovery. Lumicore's own internal design documentation — including GDS-II layout files, RTL schematics, FDTD simulation results, thermal models, and engineering specifications — provides direct evidence of the design intent, structural parameters, and functional characteristics of the accused products. These files corrobor

3. Deposition Testimony from Lumicore's CTO (Dr. Sandra Michaud) and Benchmark's Lead Engineer (Kevin Ng). Dr. Michaud's deposition testimony provides admissions from Lumicore's most senior technical officer regarding the architecture, design choices, and functional characteristics of the accused products. Her testimony frequently uses language that directly parallels the Asserted Patents' claim language, providing p

X. CERTIFICATION AND SIGNATURE BLOCK A. Expert Certification I, Dr. Caroline Ashford, hereby certify that I have personally reviewed all materials cited in this Appendix A, including the Benchmark teardown reports and annotated photographs, the Lumicore design files and engineering specifications produced in discovery, the deposition transcripts of Dr. Sandra Michaud, Kevin Ng, and Dr. Jian-Wei Huang, and the patent