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 § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-6, 8-12 and 15-23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the enablement requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to enable one skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and/or use the invention.
Claim 1-6, 8-12, and 15-23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claims contain subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventors, at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
The independent claims as currently amended recite “the/an post-lens element [is] configured to dynamically focus the electron beam to control electrons scattered by the sample on the detector”.
However the post-lens element 120 of the current specification is only briefly described in the specification as “a post-lens deflector/dynamic focus element” which “reduces introduction of additional aberrations or distortions from the lens itself” and “can also perform dynamic focus to always ensure that the beam is in focus” ([0040]).
The structure and functioning of the post-lens element are not described in the original disclosure in sufficient detail to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to use the post-lens element to “control electrons scattered by the sample on the detector” by means of the dynamic focusing, i.e. it is not clear how to arrange the post-lens element or apply voltages to the element in order to focus the electron beam on the sample while also adjusting the trajectory of the upward-traveling scattered electrons so that a desired number of them strike the detector.
In fig. 1B of the current drawings, the post-lens element 120 is drawn as two rectangles, suggesting either a plate electrode with an aperture or an electrostatic deflector structure with different voltages applied to different sides of the post-lens element. However the exact structure is not described in the specification.
In the case that the post-lens element is a plate electrode, Examiner notes that the prior art teaches an SEM having a post objective lens element comprising an electrostatic plate (e.g. element 152 of Mueller, US 20190113470 A1), which is capable of focusing electron a sample (applying a positive voltage to an aperture plate will inherently converge any incoming electrons). The focusing can be made “dynamic” by making the voltage applied to the plate adjustable, which would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art as a matter of routine optimization (e.g. adjusting the plate voltage to optimize the current SEM image).
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 DAVID E SMITH whose telephone number is (571)270-7096. The examiner can normally be reached M to F 8:30 AM-5:00 PM.
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/DAVID E SMITH/Examiner, Art Unit 2881