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 .
Summary
This action is responsive to the amendments and remarks filed on 03/17/2026. The amendment has been entered. Applicant has submitted Claims 1-8 and 10-13 for examination.
Examiner finds the following: 1) Claims 1-8 and 10-13 are rejected; 2) no claims objected to; and 3) no claims allowable.
Response to Arguments and Remarks
Examiner respectfully acknowledges Applicant’s arguments, remarks, and amendments.
Regarding the amendments and remarks about the 112(a) rejection, Examiner withdraws that rejection.
Regarding the amendments and remarks about the 112(b) rejection, Examiner withdraws the rejection.
Regarding the amendments and remarks about the 103 rejection, Applicant's arguments with respect to the claims have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Examiner notes that the two limitations highlighted by Applicant, the near-infrared light and the petahertz current limitations, only appear in independent Claim 1 but do not appear in the other independent claims. Examiner, based on Applicant’s remarks, appears to argue as if those limitations to be present in all independent claims.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or non-obviousness.
Claims 1-4 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tinnemans (US 20180011029 A1), in view of Zanni (US 20160018323 A1), and in further view of Jun (US 20200182783 A1).
Regarding Claim 1, Tinnemans discloses:
A high-order harmonic observation device (Tinnemans, FIG. 1, [0024], lithographic apparatus LA), comprising:
a laser pulse light source (Tinnemans, FIG. 1, [0024], illumination system (illuminator) IL) configured to output a first pulse light having a prescribed wavelength of near-infrared light and a prescribed pulse width corresponding to one scale of electric field vibration in the near-infrared light, which are adjusted according to a high-order harmonic (Tinnemans, [0068], “The difference between these two modes of operation is the width of the pump laser pulse. A shorter time duration of the pump laser pulse, which eventually contributes to high harmonic generation, will result in a spectral broadening of the individual high harmonic orders”) generated in a measurement object (Tinnemans, FIG. 4, [0065], target T will then be detected by detector block 445,” and [0005], “The known scatterometers tend to use light in the visible or near-IR wave range, which requires the pitch of the grating to be much coarser than the actual product structures whose properties are actually of interest”); …
… an optical detector configured to detect the plurality of high-order harmonic harmonics (Tinnemans, FIG. 4, [0065], “the detector block 445 comprises a first detector 450 for positive diffraction orders, a second detector 455 for negative diffraction orders and a third detector 460 for the zeroth diffraction order. However, in other embodiments, the detector block 445 may comprise only one detector (e.g., one of detector 450, detector 455 or detector 460) or two detectors (e.g., any two of detectors 450, 455, 460)”) which are positive integer multiples of a fundamental harmonic associated with the first pulse light (Tinnemans, FIG. 5, [0069], “Note that this wavelength difference 540 is dependent on the wavelength offset Δλ of the pump radiation beams divided by m, where m is an integer which denotes the specific higher-order harmonic of the HHG source peak wavelength (e.g., m=79 for peaks 510a and 520a)”),
wherein the plurality of high-order harmonics comprises: a first wavelength region including a first high-order harmonic and a second wavelength region including a second high-order harmonic (Tinnemans, FIG. 4, [0064], first measurement radiation 430 and second measurement radiation 435),
wherein the first high-order harmonic is higher in order than the second high- order harmonic (Tinnemans, FIG. 5, [0069], “Note that this wavelength difference 540 is dependent on the wavelength offset Δλ of the pump radiation beams divided by m, where m is an integer which denotes the specific higher-order harmonic of the HHG source peak wavelength (e.g., m=79 for peaks 510a and 520a)”), …
… wherein the optical detector is configured to detect the first high-order harmonic by performing Fourier transform on the detection data of the interference signals (Tinnemans, [0071], “Fourier Transform Spectroscopy techniques can be used to determine the spectral composition (e.g., intensity of each mth higher-order harmonic pair) from the variation of the detected signal over time, as modulated by the beat component. This may be done by means of a Fourier transform (integrated over the time variable). This may comprise computing the inner product of the detected signal with a sine or cosine shaped (single frequency) signal. Other transforms, such as Fourier-related transforms (e.g. cosine transform, Hartley transform, etc.) may also be used to spectrally resolve the signal,” and [0077], “The first measurement radiation 430 and second measurement radiation 435 subsequently illuminates a target T at different locations (although the locations may alternatively overlap or partially overlap), resulting in interference of the diffracted measurement radiation, and therefore a measurable beat component, at the detector (not shown)”).
Tinnemans discloses the above but does not explicitly disclose:
… an optical delay circuit made of a birefringent optical element to which the first pulse light is input, and configured to coaxially output a pair of second pulse lights having a time difference relative to each other and to input the pair of second pulse lights to a reflection unit which is the measurement object having a property of generating a petahertz current and generating a plurality of high-order harmonics including the high-order harmonic; and …
… wherein the optical detector is configured to detect the second high-order harmonic among detection data of interference signal by using a spectroscope, and …
However, Zanni, in a similar field of endeavor (Multidimensional White Light Spectrometer) discloses:
… an optical delay circuit made of a birefringent optical element to which the first pulse light is input (Zanni, FIGS. 1 & 2, “the pulse splitter 28 may provide a translating, wedge-based, identical pulse encoding system (TWINS), for example, as described in D. Brida, C. Manzoni, G. Cerullo, “Phase-locked pulses for two-dimensional spectroscopy by a birefringent delay line”, Optics letters 37, 3027 (Aug. 1, 2012)”), and configured to coaxially output a pair of second pulse lights having a time difference relative to each other (Zanni, FIG. 1, [0029], “the white light pulse 24 may be received by a pulse splitter 28 which controllably splits the white light pulse 24 into first and second pump pulses 30 and 32 of substantially equal energy and frequency profile but separated in time by a time value t The pump pulses 30 and 32 are directed through a sample volume 34 holding a sample to be analyzed (either by absorption or reflection). Pump pulses 30 and 32 leaving the sample Volume 34 may be absorbed by an absorber 36”) and …
… wherein the optical detector is configured to detect the second high-order harmonic among detection data of interference signal by using a spectroscope (Zanni, [0270], “time-resolved capability may be advantageously added to system 1300 to allow for fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM) or time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy”), and …
It would have been obvious to PHOSITA before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Tinnemans with the delay circuit of Zanni. PHOSITA would have known about the uses of the delay circuits as disclosed by Zanni and how to use them to modify Tinnemans. PHOSITA would have been motivated to do this as an application of a known technique to a known device ready for improvement to yield predictable results (See MPEP § 2143 (I)(D)), specifically the use a known delay circuit to generate a delay in a signal.
The combination of Tinnemans and Zanni discloses the above but does not explicitly disclose:
… to input the pair of second pulse lights to a reflection unit which is the measurement object having a property of generating a petahertz current and generating a plurality of high-order harmonics including the high-order harmonic (Examiner notes that inputting a single high-order harmonic into a delay would inherently create at least two high-order harmonics); and …
However, Jun, in a similar field of endeavor (MEASURING APPARATUS AND SUBSTRATE ANALYSIS METHOD USING THE SAME), discloses:
… to input the pair of second pulse lights to a reflection unit which is the measurement object having a property of generating a petahertz current and generating a plurality of high-order harmonics including the high-order harmonic (Jun, FIG. 1, [0021], “The light source 10 may be a laser. For example, the light source 10 may generate a laser beam 12. The laser beam 12 may be a mode-locked near-infrared femtosecond laser beam, e.g., may have a wavelength of about 800 nm. In an implementation, the laser beam 12 may be a petahertz (PHz) laser beam. In an implementation, the laser beam 12 may have a pulse of about 1 kHZ to about 1 MHz,” and [0022], “The beam splitter 20 may be between the light source 10 and the pulse stretcher 40. For example, the beam splitter 20 may be a half-mirror. The beam splitter 20 may transmit a portion of the laser beam 12 toward the pulse stretcher 40 and may reflect the rest of the laser beam 12 toward the antenna 30”); and …
It would have been obvious to PHOSITA before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Tinnemans and Zanni with the petahertz laser of Pashotta. PHOSITA would have known about the uses of nonlinear as disclosed by Pashotta and how to use them to modify the combination of Tinnemans and Zanni. PHOSITA would have been motivated to do this as an application of a combination of prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results (See MPEP § 2143 (I)(C)), specifically the use of a known light source, in particular one on a faster Hertz than the ones discussed in Tinnemans (terahertz).
Regarding Claim 2, the combination of Tinnemans, Zanni, and Jun discloses Claim 1, and Zanni further discloses:
… wherein the optical delay circuit made of the birefringent optical element includes:
a wave plate which is configured to receive the first pulse light (Zanni, FIG. 2, [0033], wave plate 33), adjust a polarization direction in an oblique direction when viewed in an optical axis direction, and output the adjusted first pulse light (Zanni, FIG. 2, [0033], “a white light pulse 24 having a first polarization of 45 degrees with respect to a surface such as an optical table 50 (indicated in the figure by an arrow) is generated by a wave plate 46”),
a time plate which is provided downstream of the wave plate (Zanni, FIG. 2, [0033], crystal 52), and which is configured to apply a negative time delay to an input light and output the input light (Zanni, FIG. 2, [0033], “crystal 52 splits the white light pulse 24 into vertically and horizontally polarized pulses 54 and 56 with some fixed time delay between them”),
a first plate combining two wedge prisms which is provided downstream of or upstream of and adjacent to the time plate (Zanni, FIG. 2, [0034], pair of a-BBO wedges 58 and 60), and which is configured to apply a relative time difference to a vertical component and a horizontal component of the input light and output an output light (Zanni, FIG. 2, [0034], “wedges 58 and 60 …are used to adjust the separation between pulses 54 and 56 by selectively delaying one pulse”), and
a polarization plate which is provided downstream of the time plate and the first plate combining two wedge prisms (Zanni, FIG. 2, [0036], polarizer 70), and which is configured to receive the output light, to cause a component of the output light in the oblique direction when viewed in the optical axis direction to pass through to generate the pair of second pulse lights, and to output the pair of second pulse lights (Zanni, FIG. 2, [0036], “A polarizer 70 is used after the wedges 58, 60, 62 and 64 to realign the polarization of the pump pulses 30 and 32 to a common polarization and to set the final polarization of the pump pulses 30 and 32, for example, to be either parallel or perpendicular to the probe pulse 24′”).
It would have been obvious to PHOSITA before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Tinnemans, Zanni, and Jun with the delay circuit of Zanni. PHOSITA would have known about the uses of the delay circuits as disclosed by Zanni and how to use them to modify the combination of Tinnemans, Zanni, and Jun. PHOSITA would have been motivated to do this as an application of a known technique to a known device ready for improvement to yield predictable results (See MPEP § 2143 (I)(D)), specifically the use a known delay circuit to generate a delay in a signal.
Regarding Claim 3, the combination of Tinnemans, Zanni, and Jun discloses Claim 2, and Zanni further discloses:
… wherein the optical delay circuit made of the birefringent optical element includes a second plate combining two wedge prisms which is provided downstream of the time plate and the first plate combining two wedge prisms, and which is configured to adjust a pulse width of an input light (Zanni, FIG. 2, [0035], “second pair of wedges 62 and 64”).
It would have been obvious to PHOSITA before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Tinnemans, Zanni, and Jun with the delay circuit of Zanni. PHOSITA would have known about the uses of the delay circuits as disclosed by Zanni and how to use them to modify the combination of Tinnemans, Zanni, and Jun. PHOSITA would have been motivated to do this as an application of a known technique to a known device ready for improvement to yield predictable results (See MPEP § 2143 (I)(D)), specifically the use a known delay circuit to generate a delay in a signal.
Regarding Claim 4, the combination of Tinnemans, Zanni, and Jun discloses Claim 1, but does not explicitly disclose:
… wherein the laser pulse light source is configured to generate the first pulse light having a wavelength of 1.5 μm band and a pulse width of approximately 6 fs.
However, Zanni, FIG. 1, [0028], discloses:
A wavelength bandwidth of the white light pulses 24, for example, may range from wavelength between 400-1400 nanometers (and hence having a bandwidth of no less than 1000 nanometers). The invention contemplates a bandwidth of no less than 900 nanometers or no less than 700 nanometers. Generally the bandwidth will exceed 1½ octaves and will include the wavelength of 1000 nanometers. (Examiner notes that 1400 nanometers is 1.4 μm)
And additionally, in [0037]:
A laser suitable for this purpose is commercially available from Spectra Physics of California, United States under the trade name Spitfire. (Examiner notes that according the specs of the various models of the Spitfire, a pulse width of 6 fs)
The specific wavelength and pulse width used are result-effective variables. In that, if those variables are not properly calibrated with the particular apparatus, the apparatus will not work properly.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before applicant’s filing date to have a wavelength of 1.5 μm band or a pulse width of approximately 6 fs, since determining the optimum wavelength or pulse width is based on a result effective variable and would require routine skill in the art. Furthermore, it has been held that that determining the optimum value of a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art (see MPEP 2144.05 (II (A) and (B)).
Regarding Claim 6, the combination of Tinnemans, Zanni, and Jun discloses Claim 1, and Tinnemans further discloses:
the high-order harmonic observation device according to claim 1 (see Claim 1); and
a second high-order harmonic observation device comprising: a laser pulse light source (Tinnemans, FIG. 1, [0024], illumination system (illuminator) IL) configured to output a first pulse light (Tinnemans, [0068], “The difference between these two modes of operation is the width of the pump laser pulse. A shorter time duration of the pump laser pulse, which eventually contributes to high harmonic generation, will result in a spectral broadening of the individual high harmonic orders”) having a prescribed wavelength and a prescribed pulse width (Tinnemans, [0062], “An illumination source is described, such as a HHG source, which generates (e.g., high harmonic) measurement radiation from first pump radiation beam at a first wavelength (or centered on a first wavelength) and second pump radiation beam at a second wavelength (or centered on at least a second wavelength). The generated measurement radiation (e.g., corresponding harmonics of the measurement radiation) generated by the first and second pump radiation beams interfere causing a heterodyne signal or beat at a beat frequency dependent on said first and second wavelengths. The difference in the first and second wavelengths should be small, e.g. 1 nm or smaller”), which are adjusted according to a high-order harmonic generated in the measurement object, and to input the first pulse light to the measurement object to generate the high-order harmonic (Tinnemans, FIG. 4, [0064], “The first pump radiation beam 410 and second pump radiation beam 420 excite a HHG medium, such as HHG gas jet 425, in such a way that corresponding harmonics of first measurement radiation 430 (generated by first pump radiation beam 410) and second measurement radiation 435 (generated by second pump radiation beam 420) interfere generating a beat component (heterodyne signal) in the combined measurement radiation for each corresponding (higher order) harmonic pair at the detector block 445”); …
… an optical detector configured to detect the high-order harmonic in a wavelength region which can be detected (Tinnemans, FIG. 4, [0065], “the detector block 445 comprises a first detector 450 for positive diffraction orders, a second detector 455 for negative diffraction orders and a third detector 460 for the zeroth diffraction order. However, in other embodiments, the detector block 445 may comprise only one detector (e.g., one of detector 450, detector 455 or detector 460) or two detectors (e.g., any two of detectors 450, 455, 460)”), wherein the optical detector evaluates a generation state of an oscillating current having a frequency component of a high-order harmonic higher in order than the high-order harmonic lower in order inside the measurement object (Tinnemans, FIG. 5, [0069], “Note that this wavelength difference 540 is dependent on the wavelength offset Δλ of the pump radiation beams divided by m, where m is an integer which denotes the specific higher-order harmonic of the HHG source peak wavelength (e.g., m=79 for peaks 510a and 520a)”) by using:
a first observation result of observing the high-order harmonic higher in order than a wavelength region of high-order harmonic lower in order, which can be detected by the optical detector of the high- order harmonic observation device, generated inside the measurement object obtained by using the high-order harmonic observation device (Tinnemans, [0070], “For each mth higher-order harmonic pair, a beat component will be present in the detected photo-current. The frequency of this beat component B will be m times that of the frequency difference between the two mode locked pump lasers”); and
a second observation result of observing the high-order harmonic higher in order than a wavelength region of high-order harmonic lower in order (Tinnemans, FIG. 5, [0069], “Note that this wavelength difference 540 is dependent on the wavelength offset Δλ of the pump radiation beams divided by m, where m is an integer which denotes the specific higher-order harmonic of the HHG source peak wavelength (e.g., m=79 for peaks 510a and 520a)”), which can be detected by the optical detector of the second high-order harmonic observation device, generated inside the measurement object obtained by using the second high-order harmonic observation device (Tinnemans, [0070], “For each mth higher-order harmonic pair, a beat component will be present in the detected photo-current. The frequency of this beat component B will be m times that of the frequency difference between the two mode locked pump lasers”).
Zanni further discloses:
… an optical delay circuit made of a birefringent optical element to which the high-order harmonic is input (Zanni, FIGS. 1 & 2, “the pulse splitter 28 may provide a translating, wedge-based, identical pulse encoding system (TWINS), for example, as described in D. Brida, C. Manzoni, G. Cerullo, “Phase-locked pulses for two-dimensional spectroscopy by a birefringent delay line”, Optics letters 37, 3027 (Aug. 1, 2012)”), and configured to coaxially output a pair of the high-order harmonics having a time difference relative to each other (Zanni, FIG. 1, [0029], “the white light pulse 24 may be received by a pulse splitter 28 which controllably splits the white light pulse 24 into first and second pump pulses 30 and 32 of substantially equal energy and frequency profile but separated in time by a time value t The pump pulses 30 and 32 are directed through a sample volume 34 holding a sample to be analyzed (either by absorption or reflection). Pump pulses 30 and 32 leaving the sample Volume 34 may be absorbed by an absorber 36”); and …
It would have been obvious to PHOSITA before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Tinnemans, Zanni, and Jun with the delay circuit of Zanni. PHOSITA would have known about the uses of the delay circuits as disclosed by Zanni and how to use them to modify the combination of Tinnemans, Zanni, and Jun. PHOSITA would have been motivated to do this as an application of a known technique to a known device ready for improvement to yield predictable results (See MPEP § 2143 (I)(D)), specifically the use a known delay circuit to generate a delay in a signal.
Claims 7-8 and 10-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tinnemans (US 20180011029 A1) in view of Zanni (US 20160018323 A1).
Regarding Claim 7, Tinnemans discloses:
A high-order harmonic observation method comprising:
outputting, from a laser pulse light source (Tinnemans, FIG. 1, [0024], illumination system (illuminator) IL), a first pulse light having a prescribed wavelength and a prescribed pulse width, which are adjusted according to a high-order harmonic generated in a measurement object (Tinnemans, [0068], “The difference between these two modes of operation is the width of the pump laser pulse. A shorter time duration of the pump laser pulse, which eventually contributes to high harmonic generation, will result in a spectral broadening of the individual high harmonic orders”) generated in a measurement object (Tinnemans, FIG. 4, [0065], target T will then be detected by detector block 445”); …
… wherein the plurality of high-order harmonics comprises: a first wavelength region including a first high-order harmonic and a second wavelength region including a second high-order harmonic (Tinnemans, FIG. 4, [0064], first measurement radiation 430 and second measurement radiation 435),
wherein the first high-order harmonic is higher in order than the second high-order harmonic (Tinnemans, FIG. 5, [0069], “Note that this wavelength difference 540 is dependent on the wavelength offset Δλ of the pump radiation beams divided by m, where m is an integer which denotes the specific higher-order harmonic of the HHG source peak wavelength (e.g., m=79 for peaks 510a and 520a)”); and
detecting the plurality of high-order harmonics (Tinnemans, FIG. 4, [0065], “the detector block 445 comprises a first detector 450 for positive diffraction orders, a second detector 455 for negative diffraction orders and a third detector 460 for the zeroth diffraction order. However, in other embodiments, the detector block 445 may comprise only one detector (e.g., one of detector 450, detector 455 or detector 460) or two detectors (e.g., any two of detectors 450, 455, 460)”) which are positive integer multiples of a fundamental harmonic associated with the first pulse light (Tinnemans, FIG. 5, [0069], “Note that this wavelength difference 540 is dependent on the wavelength offset Δλ of the pump radiation beams divided by m, where m is an integer which denotes the specific higher-order harmonic of the HHG source peak wavelength (e.g., m=79 for peaks 510a and 520a)”), at least by: …
… detecting the first high-order harmonic by performing Fourier transform on the detection data of the interference signals (Tinnemans, [0071], “Fourier Transform Spectroscopy techniques can be used to determine the spectral composition (e.g., intensity of each mth higher-order harmonic pair) from the variation of the detected signal over time, as modulated by the beat component. This may be done by means of a Fourier transform (integrated over the time variable). This may comprise computing the inner product of the detected signal with a sine or cosine shaped (single frequency) signal. Other transforms, such as Fourier-related transforms (e.g. cosine transform, Hartley transform, etc.) may also be used to spectrally resolve the signal,” and [0077], “The first measurement radiation 430 and second measurement radiation 435 subsequently illuminates a target T at different locations (although the locations may alternatively overlap or partially overlap), resulting in interference of the diffracted measurement radiation, and therefore a measurable beat component, at the detector (not shown)”).
Tinnemans discloses the above but does not explicitly disclose:
… inputting the first pulse light to an optical delay circuit made of a birefringent optical element, generating and coaxially outputting a pair of second pulse lights having a time difference relative to each other;
inputting the pair of second pulse lights to the measurement object to generate a plurality of high-order harmonics including the high-order harmonic, …
… detecting the second high-order harmonic among detection data of interference signal by using a spectroscope, and …
However, Zanni, in a similar field of endeavor (Multidimensional White Light Spectrometer) discloses:
… inputting the first pulse light to an optical delay circuit made of a birefringent optical element (Zanni, FIGS. 1 & 2, “the pulse splitter 28 may provide a translating, wedge-based, identical pulse encoding system (TWINS), for example, as described in D. Brida, C. Manzoni, G. Cerullo, “Phase-locked pulses for two-dimensional spectroscopy by a birefringent delay line”, Optics letters 37, 3027 (Aug. 1, 2012)”), generating and coaxially outputting a pair of second pulse lights having a time difference relative to each other (Zanni, FIG. 1, [0029], “the white light pulse 24 may be received by a pulse splitter 28 which controllably splits the white light pulse 24 into first and second pump pulses 30 and 32 of substantially equal energy and frequency profile but separated in time by a time value t The pump pulses 30 and 32 are directed through a sample volume 34 holding a sample to be analyzed (either by absorption or reflection). Pump pulses 30 and 32 leaving the sample Volume 34 may be absorbed by an absorber 36”);
inputting the pair of second pulse lights to the measurement object to generate a plurality of high-order harmonics including the high-order harmonic (Examiner notes that inputting a single high-order harmonic into a delay would inherently create at least two high-order harmonics), …
… detecting the second high-order harmonic among detection data of interference signal by using a spectroscope (Zanni, [0270], “time-resolved capability may be advantageously added to system 1300 to allow for fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM) or time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy”), and …
It would have been obvious to PHOSITA before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Tinnemans with the delay circuit of Zanni. PHOSITA would have known about the uses of the delay circuits as disclosed by Zanni and how to use them to modify Tinnemans. PHOSITA would have been motivated to do this as an application of a known technique to a known device ready for improvement to yield predictable results (See MPEP § 2143 (I)(D)), specifically the use a known delay circuit to generate a delay in a signal.
Regarding Claim 8, the combination of Tinnemans and Zanni discloses Claim 7, and Zanni further discloses:
… wherein in the optical delay circuit made of a birefringent optical element (Zanni, FIGS. 1 & 2, “the pulse splitter 28 may provide a translating, wedge-based, identical pulse encoding system (TWINS), for example, as described in D. Brida, C. Manzoni, G. Cerullo, “Phase-locked pulses for two-dimensional spectroscopy by a birefringent delay line”, Optics letters 37, 3027 (Aug. 1, 2012)”),
a wave plate receives the first pulse light (Zanni, FIG. 2, [0033], wave plate 33), rotates a polarization direction in an oblique direction when viewed in an optical axis direction, and outputs the rotated first pulse light (Zanni, FIG. 2, [0033], “a white light pulse 24 having a first polarization of 45 degrees with respect to a surface such as an optical table 50 (indicated in the figure by an arrow) is generated by a wave plate 46”),
a time plate (Zanni, FIG. 2, [0033], crystal 52) applies a negative time delay to an input light and outputs the input light (Zanni, FIG. 2, [0033], “crystal 52 splits the white light pulse 24 into vertically and horizontally polarized pulses 54 and 56 with some fixed time delay between them”),
a first plate combining two wedge prisms (Zanni, FIG. 2, [0034], pair of a-BBO wedges 58 and 60) outputs an output light obtained by applying a relative time difference to a vertical component and a horizontal component of the input light (Zanni, FIG. 2, [0034], “wedges 58 and 60 …are used to adjust the separation between pulses 54 and 56 by selectively delaying one pulse”), and
a polarization plate receives the output light (Zanni, FIG. 2, [0036], polarizer 70), causes a component of the output light in the oblique direction when viewed in the optical axis direction to pass through to generate the pair of second pulse lights having a time difference relative to each other, and outputs the pair of second pulse lights (Zanni, FIG. 2, [0036], “A polarizer 70 is used after the wedges 58, 60, 62 and 64 to realign the polarization of the pump pulses 30 and 32 to a common polarization and to set the final polarization of the pump pulses 30 and 32, for example, to be either parallel or perpendicular to the probe pulse 24′”).
It would have been obvious to PHOSITA before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Tinnemans, Zanni, and Jun with the delay circuit of Zanni. PHOSITA would have known about the uses of the delay circuits as disclosed by Zanni and how to use them to modify the combination of Tinnemans, Zanni, and Jun. PHOSITA would have been motivated to do this as an application of a known technique to a known device ready for improvement to yield predictable results (See MPEP § 2143 (I)(D)), specifically the use a known delay circuit to generate a delay in a signal.
Regarding Claim 10, Tinnemans discloses:
A high-order harmonic observation method (Tinnemans, FIG. 1, [0024], lithographic apparatus LA), comprising:
a first high-order harmonic observation method (Tinnemans, FIG. 1, [0024], lithographic apparatus LA) includes comprising:
outputting, from a laser pulse light source (Tinnemans, FIG. 1, [0024], illumination system (illuminator) IL), a first pulse light having a first prescribed wavelength and a first prescribed pulse width, which are adjusted according to a first high-order harmonic (Tinnemans, [0068], “The difference between these two modes of operation is the width of the pump laser pulse. A shorter time duration of the pump laser pulse, which eventually contributes to high harmonic generation, will result in a spectral broadening of the individual high harmonic orders”) generated in a measurement object (Tinnemans, FIG. 4, [0065], target T will then be detected by detector block 445”) generated in a measurement object (Tinnemans, FIG. 4, [0065], target T will then be detected by detector block 445”), …
… wherein the first high-order harmonic is a positive integer multiple of a fundamental harmonic associated with the first pulse light (Tinnemans, FIG. 5, [0069], “Note that this wavelength difference 540 is dependent on the wavelength offset Δλ of the pump radiation beams divided by m, where m is an integer which denotes the specific higher-order harmonic of the HHG source peak wavelength (e.g., m=79 for peaks 510a and 520a)”), and …
… a second high-order harmonic observation method (Tinnemans, FIG. 1, [0024], lithographic apparatus LA) includes:
outputting, from the laser pulse light source (Tinnemans, FIG. 1, [0024], illumination system (illuminator) IL), a second pulse light having a second prescribed wavelength and a second prescribed pulse width (Tinnemans, [0068], “The difference between these two modes of operation is the width of the pump laser pulse. A shorter time duration of the pump laser pulse, which eventually contributes to high harmonic generation, will result in a spectral broadening of the individual high harmonic orders”), which are adjusted according to a second high-order harmonic (Tinnemans, [0068], “The difference between these two modes of operation is the width of the pump laser pulse. A shorter time duration of the pump laser pulse, which eventually contributes to high harmonic generation, will result in a spectral broadening of the individual high harmonic orders”) generated in a measurement object (Tinnemans, FIG. 4, [0065], target T will then be detected by detector block 445”),
inputting the second pulse light to the measurement object to generate the second high-order harmonic (Tinnemans, FIG. 4, [0064], first measurement radiation 430 and second measurement radiation 435),
wherein the second high-order harmonic is a positive integer multiple of a fundamental harmonic associated with the second pulse light (Tinnemans, FIG. 5, [0069], “Note that this wavelength difference 540 is dependent on the wavelength offset Δλ of the pump radiation beams divided by m, where m is an integer which denotes the specific higher-order harmonic of the HHG source peak wavelength (e.g., m=79 for peaks 510a and 520a)”),
wherein the first high-order harmonic is higher in order than the second high-order harmonic (Tinnemans, FIG. 5, [0069], “Note that this wavelength difference 540 is dependent on the wavelength offset Δλ of the pump radiation beams divided by m, where m is an integer which denotes the specific higher-order harmonic of the HHG source peak wavelength (e.g., m=79 for peaks 510a and 520a)”), …
… evaluating a generation state of an oscillating current having a frequency component of a high-order harmonic higher in order than the high- order harmonic lower in order inside the measurement object based on a first observation result of the first high-order harmonic observation method and a second observation result of the second high-order harmonic observation method (Tinnemans, [0071], “Fourier Transform Spectroscopy techniques can be used to determine the spectral composition (e.g., intensity of each mth higher-order harmonic pair) from the variation of the detected signal over time, as modulated by the beat component. This may be done by means of a Fourier transform (integrated over the time variable). This may comprise computing the inner product of the detected signal with a sine or cosine shaped (single frequency) signal. Other transforms, such as Fourier-related transforms (e.g. cosine transform, Hartley transform, etc.) may also be used to spectrally resolve the signal”).
Tinnemans discloses the above but does not explicitly disclose:
… inputting the first pulse light to an optical delay circuit made of a birefringent optical element generating and coaxially outputting a pair of second pulse lights having a time difference relative to each other …
… inputting the second high-order harmonic to the optical delay circuit made of a birefringent optical element to generate a pair of the second high-order harmonics having a time difference relative to each other and coaxially outputting the pair of second high-order harmonics …
… detecting the pair of second high-order harmonics by a second optical detector among detection data of interference signal by using a spectroscope, and …
… detecting the first high-order harmonic by a first optical detector based on performing Fourier transform on detection data of interference signals using a spectroscope; and …
… detecting the pair of second high-order harmonics by a second optical detector among detection data of interference signal by using a spectroscope, and …
However, Zanni, in a similar field of endeavor (Multidimensional White Light Spectrometer) discloses:
… inputting the first pulse light to an optical delay circuit made of a birefringent optical element (Zanni, FIGS. 1 & 2, “the pulse splitter 28 may provide a translating, wedge-based, identical pulse encoding system (TWINS), for example, as described in D. Brida, C. Manzoni, G. Cerullo, “Phase-locked pulses for two-dimensional spectroscopy by a birefringent delay line”, Optics letters 37, 3027 (Aug. 1, 2012)”), generating and coaxially outputting a pair of second pulse lights having a time difference relative to each other (Zanni, FIG. 1, [0029], “the white light pulse 24 may be received by a pulse splitter 28 which controllably splits the white light pulse 24 into first and second pump pulses 30 and 32 of substantially equal energy and frequency profile but separated in time by a time value t The pump pulses 30 and 32 are directed through a sample volume 34 holding a sample to be analyzed (either by absorption or reflection). Pump pulses 30 and 32 leaving the sample Volume 34 may be absorbed by an absorber 36”), …
… inputting the second high-order harmonic to the optical delay circuit made of a birefringent optical element to generate a pair of the second high-order harmonics having a time difference relative to each other and coaxially outputting the pair of second high-order harmonics (Zanni, FIGS. 1 & 2, “the pulse splitter 28 may provide a translating, wedge-based, identical pulse encoding system (TWINS), for example, as described in D. Brida, C. Manzoni, G. Cerullo, “Phase-locked pulses for two-dimensional spectroscopy by a birefringent delay line”, Optics letters 37, 3027 (Aug. 1, 2012). Examiner notes that inputting a single high-order harmonic into a delay would inherently create at least two high-order harmonics), and …
… detecting the pair of second high-order harmonics by a second optical detector among detection data of interference signal by using a spectroscope (Zanni, [0270], “time-resolved capability may be advantageously added to system 1300 to allow for fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM) or time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy”), and …
… detecting the first high-order harmonic by a first optical detector based on performing Fourier transform on detection data of interference signals using a spectroscope (Zanni, [0270], “time-resolved capability may be advantageously added to system 1300 to allow for fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM) or time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy”); and …
… detecting the pair of second high-order harmonics by a second optical detector among detection data of interference signal by using a spectroscope (Zanni, [0270], “time-resolved capability may be advantageously added to system 1300 to allow for fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM) or time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy”), and …
It would have been obvious to PHOSITA before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Tinnemans with the delay circuit of Zanni. PHOSITA would have known about the uses of the delay circuits as disclosed by Zanni and how to use them to modify Tinnemans. PHOSITA would have been motivated to do this as an application of a known technique to a known device ready for improvement to yield predictable results (See MPEP § 2143 (I)(D)), specifically the use a known delay circuit to generate a delay in a signal.
Regarding Claim 11, the combination of Tinnemans and Zanni discloses Claim 2, and Zanni further discloses:
… wherein the time plate is an a-BBO crystal plate (Zanni, FIG. 2, [0034], pair of a-BBO wedges 58 and 60).
It would have been obvious to PHOSITA before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Tinnemans, Zanni, and Jun with the delay circuit of Zanni. PHOSITA would have known about the uses of the delay circuits as disclosed by Zanni and how to use them to modify the combination of Tinnemans, Zanni, and Jun. PHOSITA would have been motivated to do this as an application of a known technique to a known device ready for improvement to yield predictable results (See MPEP § 2143 (I)(D)), specifically the use a known delay circuit to generate a delay in a signal.
Regarding Claim 12, the combination of Tinnemans and Zanni discloses Claim 8, and Zanni further discloses:
… wherein the time plate is an a-BBO crystal plate (Zanni, FIG. 2, [0034], pair of a-BBO wedges 58 and 60).
It would have been obvious to PHOSITA before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Tinnemans, Zanni, and Jun with the delay circuit of Zanni. PHOSITA would have known about the uses of the delay circuits as disclosed by Zanni and how to use them to modify the combination of Tinnemans, Zanni, and Jun. PHOSITA would have been motivated to do this as an application of a known technique to a known device ready for improvement to yield predictable results (See MPEP § 2143 (I)(D)), specifically the use a known delay circuit to generate a delay in a signal.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tinnemans (US 20180011029 A1), in view of Zanni (US 20160018323 A1), in further view of Jun (US 20200182783 A1), and in further view of Berg (US6376655B1).
Regarding Claim 5, the combination of Tinnemans, Zanni, and Jun discloses Claim 4, but does not explicitly disclose:
… wherein the measurement object is formed of an organic superconductor, which receives the pair of second pulse lights to generate a petahertz current, and generates the high- order harmonic.
However, Berg, in the same field of endeavor (photoresponsive monodisperse or polydisperse compounds), discloses:
… wherein the measurement object is formed of an organic superconductor, which receives the pair of second pulse lights to generate a petahertz current, and generates the high- order harmonic (Berg, C41, L48-54, “the construction of electronconducting DNO compounds includes physical functionalities chosen from a wide variety of organic or organometallic donor and acceptor moieties, some of which are known to exhibit superconducting behavior. For the moieties in question and with regard to the relevant techniques for the determination of superconductivity”).
It would have been obvious to PHOSITA before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Tinnemans, Zanni, and Jun with the organic superconducting of Berg. PHOSITA would have known about the uses of organic superconducting as disclosed by Berg and how to use them to modify the combination of Tinnemans, Zanni, and Jun. PHOSITA would have been motivated to do this as a simple substitution of one known element for another to obtain predictable results (See MPEP § 2143 (I)(B)), specifically the known uses of organic superconductors.
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 CHAD A REVERMAN whose telephone number is (571)270-0079. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 9-5 EST.
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/CHAD ANDREW REVERMAN/Examiner, Art Unit 2877
/Kara E. Geisel/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2877
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