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 § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(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.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 15, 16, 17, and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lee U.S. PGPUB No. 2013/0202866.
Regarding claim 1, Lee discloses a thin-film-based assembly comprising: a support base; and a thin film placed on the support base (“depositing a first coating comprising a plurality of nanoparticles on a substrate, wherein the first coating defines a plurality of interstitial spaces; and depositing a second coating comprising metals, metal oxides, or mixtures thereof by atomic layer deposition (ALD) on the first coating and within the interstitial spaces defined by the first coating” [Abstract]), the thin film having a thickness of less than 10 nm (“The second coating is deposited at a thickness of about 0.01 nanometers to about 100 nanometers” [0012]), wherein the thin-film-based assembly comprises at least one spherical nanoparticle (“The nanoparticles can be nanospheres such as, for example, silica nanospheres, titania nanospheres, polymer nanospheres (such as polystyrene nanospheres), or metallic nanospheres” [0028]) comprised between the thin film and the support base, the at least one spherical nanoparticle functionally constituting a spacer between the thin film and the support base (“depositing a first coating comprising a plurality of nanoparticles on a substrate, wherein the first coating defines a plurality of interstitial spaces; and depositing a second coating comprising metals, metal oxides, or mixtures thereof by atomic layer deposition (ALD) on the first coating and within the interstitial spaces defined by the first coating” [Abstract]).
Regarding claim 2, Lee discloses that the at least one spherical nanoparticle has a diameter in a range between 1 nanometer and 1 micrometer (“The nanoparticles can be nanospheres such as, for example, silica nanospheres, titania nanospheres, polymer nanospheres (such as polystyrene nanospheres), or metallic nanospheres… The nanoparticles can have diameters of, for example, between 1 and 1000 nanometers, between 10 and 500 nanometers, between 20 and 100 nanometers, or between 1 and 100 nanometers.” [0028]).
Regarding claim 4, Lee discloses a cell having a circumference formed by the thin film locally being in contact with the support base, the at least one nanoparticle defining a thickness of the cell (“depositing a first coating comprising a plurality of nanoparticles on a substrate, wherein the first coating defines a plurality of interstitial spaces; and depositing a second coating comprising metals, metal oxides, or mixtures thereof by atomic layer deposition (ALD) on the first coating and within the interstitial spaces defined by the first coating” [Abstract]).
Regarding claim 5, Lee discloses that the cell has lateral dimensions in a range between 10 nanometer and 50 micrometer (“In general, the total thickness of the mechanically stable thin film coating may be from about 0.01 nanometers to about 100 microns. As is known to one having ordinary skill in the art, the total coating thickness depends on the particular use and the substrate on which the coating is applied” [0012]).
Regarding claim 6, Lee discloses that the cell comprises a liquid (“A drop of water (1.5 .mu.L) was deposited on a sample surface using a Ramehart Instrument goniometer” [0047]).
Regarding claim 7, Lee discloses that the cell comprises a sample to be analyzed (“Micrograph images of the coated substrates as seen by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), before and after abrasion testing, confirm the mechanical robustness imparted by the process of the present invention” [0054]).
Regarding claim 8, Lee discloses that the support base comprises a further thin film, the at least one spherical nanoparticle functionally constituting a spacer between the thin film and the further thin film (“FIG. 2(a) shows the variation of film thickness with increasing number of atomic layer depositions cycles over a number of deposited as-assembled bilayers (one bilayer consists of a sequential pair of TiO.sub.2 and SiO.sub.2 nanoparticle depositions). Five bilayers of TiO.sub.2 and SiO.sub.2 were deposited on the glass substrates as the as-assembled coating for these tests” [0040]).
Regarding claim 9, Lee discloses that the at least one spherical nanoparticle has a main body of inorganic material comprising at least one of the following: a polymer, a metal, a metal oxide, a silicate, and a ceramic (“The nanoparticles can be nanospheres such as, for example, silica nanospheres, titania nanospheres, polymer nanospheres (such as polystyrene nanospheres), or metallic nanospheres” [0028]).
Regarding claim 10, Lee discloses that the at least one spherical nanoparticle has a main body of inorganic material comprising at least one of the following: a polymer, a metal, a metal oxide, a silicate, and a ceramic (“The nanoparticles can be nanospheres such as, for example, silica nanospheres, titania nanospheres, polymer nanospheres (such as polystyrene nanospheres), or metallic nanospheres” [0028]).
Regarding claim 11, Lee discloses that the at least one spherical nanoparticle comprises a coating on the main body (“depositing a first coating comprising a plurality of nanoparticles on a substrate” [Abstract]).
Regarding claim 15, Lee discloses that the thin film comprises graphene (“The nanoparticles can also be other well known nano-scale materials such as… graphene, and fullerenes” [0028] – Lee additionally discloses “five cycles of atomic layer deposition” [0042]).
Regarding claim 16, Lee discloses analyzing a sample comprised in the cell (“Micrograph images of the coated substrates as seen by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), before and after abrasion testing, confirm the mechanical robustness imparted by the process of the present invention” [0054]).
Regarding claim 17, Lee discloses a method of forming a thin-film-based assembly, comprising: laying out spherical nanoparticles (“The nanoparticles can be nanospheres such as, for example, silica nanospheres, titania nanospheres, polymer nanospheres (such as polystyrene nanospheres), or metallic nanospheres” [0028]) on a support base (“depositing a first coating comprising a plurality of nanoparticles on a substrate” [Abstract]); and placing a thin film on the support base (“depositing a second coating comprising metals, metal oxides, or mixtures thereof by atomic layer deposition (ALD) on the first coating and within the interstitial spaces defined by the first coating” [Abstract]), the thin film having a thickness of less than 10 nm (“The second coating is deposited at a thickness of about 0.01 nanometers to about 100 nanometers” [0012]), the thin film being placed on the support base so that at least one spherical nanoparticle is comprised between the thin film and the support base, whereby the at least one spherical nanoparticle functionally constitute a spacer between the thin film and the support base (“depositing a first coating comprising a plurality of nanoparticles on a substrate, wherein the first coating defines a plurality of interstitial spaces; and depositing a second coating comprising metals, metal oxides, or mixtures thereof by atomic layer deposition (ALD) on the first coating and within the interstitial spaces defined by the first coating” [Abstract]).
Regarding claim 18, Lee discloses forming a cell by bringing the thin film locally in contact with the support base, at least one of the spherical nanoparticle defining a thickness of the cell (“depositing a first coating comprising a plurality of nanoparticles on a substrate, wherein the first coating defines a plurality of interstitial spaces; and depositing a second coating comprising metals, metal oxides, or mixtures thereof by atomic layer deposition (ALD) on the first coating and within the interstitial spaces defined by the first coating” [Abstract]).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claim(s) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee U.S. PGPUB No. 2013/0202866.
Regarding claim 3, Lee discloses the claimed invention except that while Lee discloses that “The second coating is deposited at a thickness of about 0.01 nanometers to about 100 nanometers” [0012], and that “In general, the total thickness of the mechanically stable thin film coating may be from about 0.01 nanometers to about 100 microns” [0012], and that “The nanoparticles can have diameters of, for example, between 1 and 1000 nanometers, between 10 and 500 nanometers, between 20 and 100 nanometers, or between 1 and 100 nanometers” [0028], there is no explicit disclosure that several spherical nanoparticles account for 50% to 90% in at least a portion of a space between the thin film and the support base. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to size the spherical nanoparticles according to the claimed dimensions since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. One would have been motivated to size the spherical nanoparticles according to the claimed dimensions for the purpose of tuning the optical transmissive properties of the assembly to optimally transmit light of particular wavelengths. In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235.
Claim(s) 12, 13, and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee U.S. PGPUB No. 2013/0202866 in view of Jaiswal U.S. PGPUB No. 2016/0085003.
Regarding claim 12, Lee discloses the claimed invention except that while Lee is directed generally to high transparency coatings ([0004]) comprising nanoparticles ([0028]), there is no explicit disclosure that the coating comprises an organic material.
Jaiswal discloses a transparent thin-film-based assembly (“In general this disclosure relates to optical elements used independently or inside systems or subsystems that may use either UV, DUV, EUV and soft X-rays. The element can be a… transmissive element” [0011]) comprising: a support base (“the material [316] is sandwiched between the top and bottom layers of the mask 310” [0091]); and a thin film placed on the support base (“the material [316] is sandwiched between the top and bottom layers of the mask 310” [0091]), wherein the thin-film-based assembly comprises at least one spherical nanoparticle (“the nanostructural features are either the spheres” [0042]) comprised between the thin film and the support base, the at least one spherical nanoparticle functionally constituting a spacer between the thin film and the support base (“the material [316] is sandwiched between the top and bottom layers of the mask 310” [0091]). The coating comprises an organic material comprising at least one of the following: an antibody and a protein (“The material may be an organic material or a biomaterial. The material may further comprise micro or nano structural features of the organic or bio material. Examples of organic materials or biomaterials, include DNA, proteins, or other molecular or genomic material which have lower absorption in the wavelengths” [0054]), such that the organic material has an affinity with respect to a sample comprised in the cell, the affinity having a fixing effect on the sample within the cell (“The materials can further improve performance in non-lithography systems which may use UV, EUV, or soft X-ray wavelengths. For example… imaging and microscopy systems” [0037]).
It would have been obvious to one possessing ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Lee with the protein of Jaiswal in order to optimize the material of the device for transmission of light of specific wavelengths.
Regarding claim 13, Lee discloses the claimed invention except that while Lee is directed generally to high transparency coatings ([0004]) comprising nanoparticles ([0028]), there is no explicit disclosure that the coating comprises an organic material.
Jaiswal discloses a transparent thin-film-based assembly (“In general this disclosure relates to optical elements used independently or inside systems or subsystems that may use either UV, DUV, EUV and soft X-rays. The element can be a… transmissive element” [0011]) comprising: a support base (“the material [316] is sandwiched between the top and bottom layers of the mask 310” [0091]); and a thin film placed on the support base (“the material [316] is sandwiched between the top and bottom layers of the mask 310” [0091]), wherein the thin-film-based assembly comprises at least one spherical nanoparticle (“the nanostructural features are either the spheres” [0042]) comprised between the thin film and the support base, the at least one spherical nanoparticle functionally constituting a spacer between the thin film and the support base (“the material [316] is sandwiched between the top and bottom layers of the mask 310” [0091]). The coating comprises an organic material comprising at least one of the following: an antibody and a protein (“The material may be an organic material or a biomaterial. The material may further comprise micro or nano structural features of the organic or bio material. Examples of organic materials or biomaterials, include DNA, proteins, or other molecular or genomic material which have lower absorption in the wavelengths” [0054]), such that the organic material has an affinity with respect to a sample comprised in the cell, the affinity having a fixing effect on the sample within the cell (“The materials can further improve performance in non-lithography systems which may use UV, EUV, or soft X-ray wavelengths. For example… imaging and microscopy systems” [0037]).
It would have been obvious to one possessing ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Lee with the protein of Jaiswal in order to optimize the material of the device for transmission of light of specific wavelengths.
Regarding claim 14, Lee discloses the claimed invention except that while Lee is directed generally to high transparency coatings ([0004]) comprising nanoparticles ([0028]), there is no explicit disclosure that the coating comprises an organic material.
Jaiswal discloses a transparent thin-film-based assembly (“In general this disclosure relates to optical elements used independently or inside systems or subsystems that may use either UV, DUV, EUV and soft X-rays. The element can be a… transmissive element” [0011]) comprising: a support base (“the material [316] is sandwiched between the top and bottom layers of the mask 310” [0091]); and a thin film placed on the support base (“the material [316] is sandwiched between the top and bottom layers of the mask 310” [0091]), wherein the thin-film-based assembly comprises at least one spherical nanoparticle (“the nanostructural features are either the spheres” [0042]) comprised between the thin film and the support base, the at least one spherical nanoparticle functionally constituting a spacer between the thin film and the support base (“the material [316] is sandwiched between the top and bottom layers of the mask 310” [0091]). The coating comprises an organic material comprising at least one of the following: an antibody and a protein (“The material may be an organic material or a biomaterial. The material may further comprise micro or nano structural features of the organic or bio material. Examples of organic materials or biomaterials, include DNA, proteins, or other molecular or genomic material which have lower absorption in the wavelengths” [0054]), such that the organic material has an affinity with respect to a sample comprised in the cell, the affinity having a fixing effect on the sample within the cell (“The materials can further improve performance in non-lithography systems which may use UV, EUV, or soft X-ray wavelengths. For example… imaging and microscopy systems” [0037]).
It would have been obvious to one possessing ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Lee with the protein of Jaiswal in order to optimize the material of the device for transmission of light of specific wavelengths.
Claim(s) 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee U.S. PGPUB No. 2013/0202866 in view of Moon et al. U.S. PGPUB No. 2009/0065708.
Regarding claim 19, Lee discloses the claimed invention except that there is no explicit disclosure that at least one spherical nanoparticle is laid out on the support base together with a sample to be analyzed, whereby the spherical nanoparticle and the sample are comprised in a medium.
Moon discloses a method of forming a thin-film-based assembly, comprising: at least one nanoparticle 130 laid out on a support base together with a sample to be analyzed (“the sample is attached on the moon grid 100 for TEM tomography” [0053]), whereby the nanoparticle 130 and the sample are comprised in a medium 120.
It would have been obvious to one possessing ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Lee with the TEM assembly of Moon in order to apply the transparent material of Lee for transmitting electrons, and analyzing samples via transmission electron microscopy.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JASON L MCCORMACK whose telephone number is (571)270-1489. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 7:00AM-5:00PM EST.
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/JASON L MCCORMACK/ Examiner, Art Unit 2881