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 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites the limitation, "with the seventh second graphene film portion " in line 22. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
The Examiner is interpreting the above line to read, “the seventh contact”
Claims 2-5 are rejected by their dependencies.
Claim 6 recites the limitation, "with the seventh second graphene film portion " in line 22. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
The Examiner is interpreting the above line to read, “the seventh contact”
Claims 7-9 are rejected based on their dependencies.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Pedrazo et al. (WO 2022/122985 A1)
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Regarding claim 1, Pedrazo et al. discloses a graphene heating chip (Abstract), comprising:
a substrate (11) having a first surface (see annotated Fig. 2) and a second surface (see annotated Fig. 2) opposite the first surface, wherein the substrate defines a through hole (102) extending from the first surface to the second surface (Fig. 2);
an insulating layer (103, 111, 112) suspended over the first surface, wherein a window (105) is defined by a portion of the insulating layer (Fig. 2) covering through hole and spaced apart from the first surface, and a plurality of grooves (“To improve the mechanical properties of the membrane (103), it may be textured or structured, e.g. by locally varying its thickness and/or by forming a pattern of structural support elements, e.g. a grid, in, under or on the membrane.” Pg. 10:18-25) is formed on the window;
a graphene film (104) located on the surface of the insulating layer (Fig. 2), the insulating layer being sandwiched between the graphene film and the substrate, the graphene film covering the window (Fig. 2), wherein the graphene film comprises a first graphene film portion (see annotated Fig. 1 above) and a second graphene film portion (see annotated Fig. 1 above), and the first graphene film portion and the second graphene film portion is spaced apart from each other (see annotated Fig. 2 above); and
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a plurality of electrodes (114) located on the surface of the insulating layer (see the correspondence between Fig. 1, Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 as 101 is located on a surface of an insulating layer), wherein the electrodes are sequentially named a first electrode (see annotated Fig. 1 above), a second electrode (see annotated Fig. 1 above), a third electrode (see annotated Fig. 4 above), a fourth electrode (see annotated Fig. 4 above), a fifth electrode (see annotated Fig. 1 above), a sixth electrode (see annotated Fig. 1 above), and a seventh electrode (reference electrode, see page 9:9-16), the plurality of electrodes are arranged on the surface of the insulating layer (Fig. 2) in a following configuration: the third electrode is in direct contact with the first graphene film portion (Fig. 4 shows the third electrode measuring directly the observation window and graphene film portion), the fourth electrode is in direct contact with the second graphene film portion (Fig. 4 shows the fourth electrode measuring directly the observation window and graphene film portion), the first electrode is in direct contact with the second electrode (Fig. 1, the first contact is connected through the heater to the second contact), the fifth electrode is in direct contact with the sixth electrode (Fig. 1, the fifth contact is connected through the heater to the sixth contact); and the first graphene film portion and the second graphene film portion are in contact with the seventh second graphene film portion (The Examiner is reading this portion as “the seventh contact” and is reading the seventh contact as the reference electrode supplied by Pedrazo et al.)
Regarding claim 2, Pedrazo et al. discloses all of claim 1 as above, wherein the plurality of grooves are located between the first graphene film portion and the second graphene film portion (“To improve the mechanical properties of the membrane (103), it may be textured or structured, e.g. by locally varying its thickness and/or by forming a pattern of structural support elements, e.g. a grid, in, under or on the membrane.” Pg. 10:18-25).
Regarding claim 3, Pedrazo et al. discloses all of claim 1 as above, wherein portions of the plurality of electrodes are located between the first graphene film portion and the second graphene film portion (Fig. 1), and are electrically insulated (“Thus, the heater may be insulated by a relatively thick layer (e.g. 400 nm), while the observation window is only covered by a relatively thin layer (e.g. 20 nm).”, Pg. 12:9-10) from the graphene film, the portion of the plurality of electrode being where the first electrode is in direct contact with the second electrode, the firth electrode and the sixth electrode are in direct contact with each other (Fig. 1)”, and the second electrode is in direct contact with the fifth electrode (Fig. 1, the heater element extends from the second electrode to the fifth electrode).
Regarding claim 4, Pedrazo et al. discloses all of claim 1 as above, wherein a material of the insulating layer is silicon nitride or silicon carbine (“The heat element may be covered by an insulating layer 111 , or encapsulated between insulating layers 111 , 112, of a passivating material, such as silicon nitride, for example such as to form a stack of respectively the substrate 110, the first insulating layer 112, the metal layer 101 and the second insulating layer 111 is formed.” Pg. 11:29-31)
Regarding claim 5, Pedrazo et al. discloses all of claim 1 as above, wherein the graphene film is a monolayer graphene (“This hole or holes are covered by a graphene layer 104, e.g. a monolayer of graphene, or a multilayer (e.g. stack of monoatomic layers).” Pg. 13:4-5)
Regarding claim 6,
Pedrazo et al. discloses a graphene heating chip (Abstract), comprising:
a substrate (11) having a first surface (see annotated Fig. 2) and a second surface (see annotated Fig. 2) opposite the first surface, wherein the substrate defines a through hole (102) extending from the first surface to the second surface (Fig. 2);
an insulating layer (103, 111, 112) suspended over the first surface, wherein a window (105) is defined by a portion of the insulating layer (Fig. 2) covering through hole and not attached to the first surface of the substrate (Fig. 2, the Examiner notes that the window 103 begins after the gap in the substrate appears), and a plurality of grooves (“To improve the mechanical properties of the membrane (103), it may be textured or structured, e.g. by locally varying its thickness and/or by forming a pattern of structural support elements, e.g. a grid, in, under or on the membrane.” Pg. 10:18-25) is formed on the window;
a graphene film (104) located on the surface of the insulating layer (Fig. 2), the insulating layer being sandwiched between the graphene film and the substrate, the graphene film covering the window (Fig. 2), wherein the graphene film is a monolayer of graphene (“This hole or holes are covered by a graphene layer 104, e.g. a monolayer of graphene, or a multilayer (e.g. stack of monoatomic layers).” Pg. 13:4-5), wherein the graphene film comprises a first graphene film portion (see annotated Fig. 1 above) and a second graphene film portion (see annotated Fig. 1 above), and the first graphene film portion and the second graphene film portion is spaced apart from each other (see annotated Fig. 2 above); and
a plurality of electrodes (114) located on the surface of the insulating layer (see the correspondence between Fig. 1, Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 as 101 is located on a surface of an insulating layer), wherein the electrodes are sequentially named a first electrode (see annotated Fig. 1 above), a second electrode (see annotated Fig. 1 above), a third electrode (see annotated Fig. 4 above), a fourth electrode (see annotated Fig. 4 above), a fifth electrode (see annotated Fig. 1 above), a sixth electrode (see annotated Fig. 1 above), and a seventh electrode (reference electrode, see page 9:9-16), the plurality of electrodes are arranged on the surface of the insulating layer (Fig. 2) in a following configuration: the third electrode is in direct contact with the first graphene film portion (Fig. 4 shows the third electrode measuring directly the observation window and graphene film portion), the fourth electrode is in direct contact with the second graphene film portion (Fig. 4 shows the fourth electrode measuring directly the observation window and graphene film portion), the first electrode is in direct contact with the second electrode (Fig. 1, the first contact is connected through the heater to the second contact), the fifth electrode is in direct contact with the sixth electrode (Fig. 1, the fifth contact is connected through the heater to the sixth contact); and the first graphene film portion and the second graphene film portion are in contact with the seventh second graphene film portion (The Examiner is reading this portion as “the seventh contact” and is reading the seventh contact as the reference electrode supplied by Pedrazo et al.)
Regarding claim 7, Pedrazo et al. discloses all of claim 6 as above, wherein the plurality of grooves are located between the first graphene film portion and the second graphene film portion (“To improve the mechanical properties of the membrane (103), it may be textured or structured, e.g. by locally varying its thickness and/or by forming a pattern of structural support elements, e.g. a grid, in, under or on the membrane.” Pg. 10:18-25).
Regarding claim 8, Pedrazo et al. discloses all of claim 6 as above, wherein a part where the first electrode is in direct contact with the second electrode (see annotated Fig. 1 above), a part where the fifth and sixth electrode are in direct contact with each other (see annotated Fig. 1 above), and a part of the second electrode is in direct contact with the fifth electrode (Fig. 1, the heater element extends from the second electrode to the fifth electrode) are located between the first graphene film portion and the second graphene film portion (Fig. 1), and are electrically insulated from the graphene film (“Thus, the heater may be insulated by a relatively thick layer (e.g. 400 nm), while the observation window is only covered by a relatively thin layer (e.g. 20 nm).”, Pg. 12:9-10).
Regarding claim 9, Pedrazo et al. discloses all of claim 6 as above, wherein a material of the insulating layer is silicon nitride or silicon carbine (“The heat element may be covered by an insulating layer 111 , or encapsulated between insulating layers 111 , 112, of a passivating material, such as silicon nitride, for example such as to form a stack of respectively the substrate 110, the first insulating layer 112, the metal layer 101 and the second insulating layer 111 is formed.” Pg. 11:29-31)
Regarding claim 10, Pedrazo et al. discloses a method of making a graphene heating chip (Fig. 2), the method comprising:
providing a substrate (110) having a first surface and a second surface (see annotated Fig. 2 above), the first surface being opposite to the second surface;
placing an insulating layer (111, 112, 103) on the first surface (Fig. 2);
forming a plurality of electrodes (101, 114, or alternatively 1011 in Fig. 3) on a surface of the insulating layer away from the substrate, wherein the plurality of electrodes are sequentially names as a first electrode (see annotated Fig. 1 above), a second electrode (see annotated Fig. 1 above), a third electrode (see annotated Fig. 4 above), a fourth electrode (see annotated Fig. 4 above), a fifth electrode (see annotated Fig. 1 above), a sixth electrode (see annotated Fig. 1 above), and a seventh electrode (reference electrode, see page 9:9-16);
forming a through hole (102) on the substrate, wherein the through hole extends from the first surface to the second surface, thereby forming a window (105) defined by a portion of the insulating layer (103) covering the through hole and not attached to the first surface of the substrate (Fig. 2);
placing a graphene film (33, claim 9, 104, Fig. 3; “As already mentioned hereinabove, the graphene layer 104 may be provided from above or from below to cover the hole or holes (e.g. w.r.t. the substrate base as 'bottom' layer), for example as illustrated in respectively FIG 2 and FIG 3.” Pg. 13 1-3) on the surface of the insulating layer away from the substrate, wherein the graphene film covers the window (Fig. 2);
removing the graphene film (Fig. 3, claim 9 “removing the cellulose-based polymer layer used as temporary carrier of the graphene layer”) except a portion of the graphene film (Fig. 2) thereby exposing the plurality of electrodes (Fig. 3);
cutting the portion of the graphene film on the window into a first graphene film portion (Fig. 2, Fig. 3, 104; the Examiner notes the individual graphene films after the removal process) and a second graphene film portion so that the first graphene film portion and the second graphene film portion are spaced apart from each other; the third electrode is in direct contact with the first graphene film portion (Fig. 4 shows the third electrode measuring directly the observation window and graphene film portion), the fourth electrode is in direct contact with the second graphene film portion (Fig. 4 shows the fourth electrode measuring directly the observation window and graphene film portion), the first electrode is in direct contact with the second electrode (Fig. 1, the first contact is connected through the heater to the second contact), the fifth electrode is in direct contact with the sixth electrode (Fig. 1, the fifth contact is connected through the heater to the sixth contact); and the first graphene film portion and the second graphene film portion are in contact with the seventh electrode (the reference electrode supplied by Pedrazo et al., see page 9:9-16); and
forming a plurality of grooves on the insulating layer between the first graphene film portion and the second graphene film portion (“To improve the mechanical properties of the membrane (103), it may be textured or structured, e.g. by locally varying its thickness and/or by forming a pattern of structural support elements, e.g. a grid, in, under or on the membrane.” Pg. 10:18-25).
Regarding claim 11, Pedrazo et al. discloses all of claim 10 as above, wherein the plurality of grooves are located between the first graphene film portion and the second graphene film portion (“To improve the mechanical properties of the membrane (103), it may be textured or structured, e.g. by locally varying its thickness and/or by forming a pattern of structural support elements, e.g. a grid, in, under or on the membrane.” Pg. 10:18-25).
Regarding claim 12, Pedrazo et al. discloses all of claim 10 as above, wherein a part where the first electrode is in direct contact with the second electrode (see annotated Fig. 1 above), a part where the fifth and sixth electrode are in direct contact with each other (see annotated Fig. 1 above), and a part of the second electrode is in direct contact with the fifth electrode (Fig. 1, the heater element extends from the second electrode to the fifth electrode) are located between the first graphene film portion and the second graphene film portion (Fig. 1), and are electrically insulated from the graphene film (“Thus, the heater may be insulated by a relatively thick layer (e.g. 400 nm), while the observation window is only covered by a relatively thin layer (e.g. 20 nm).”, Pg. 12:9-10).
Regarding claim 13, Pedrazo et al. discloses all of claim 10 as above, wherein a material of the insulating layer is silicon nitride or silicon carbine (“The heat element may be covered by an insulating layer 111 , or encapsulated between insulating layers 111 , 112, of a passivating material, such as silicon nitride, for example such as to form a stack of respectively the substrate 110, the first insulating layer 112, the metal layer 101 and the second insulating layer 111 is formed.” Pg. 11:29-31).
Regarding claim 14, Pedrazo et al. discloses all of claim 10 as above, wherein the graphene film is a monolayer graphene (“This hole or holes are covered by a graphene layer 104, e.g. a monolayer of graphene, or a multilayer (e.g. stack of monoatomic layers).” Pg. 13:4-5).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
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US PGPUB 2012/0298883 A1 discloses flow cells for electron microscope imaging with multiple flow streams.
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US PGPUB 2013/0285213 A1 discloses an epitaxial structure.
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US PGPUB 2011/0020563 A1 discloses a carbon nanotube film composite structure, transmission electron microscope grid using the same, and method for making the same.
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CN 208888121 U discloses an in-situ temperature-variable ultraviolet visible infrared spectrum test sample frame.
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US PGPUB 2019/0237294 A1 discloses a transmission electron microscope micro-grid and method for making the same.
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US PGPUB 2019/0232631 A1 discloses a method for preparing suspended two-dimensional nanomaterials.
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JP 2021068508 A discloses a carbon film for electron beam device.
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/RYAN C CLARK/Examiner, Art Unit 3745