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 .
Election/Restrictions
Claims 5-7, 15, 16, and 19 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 5/4/26.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 3, 4, 8, 9, 11, 13, 14, 17, 18, 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and (a)(2) as being anticipated by US 2023/0395349 A1 [Jiang].
Note the different inventive entities present in US 2023/0395349 A1 and the instant application. Applicant is encouraged to consider the Prior Art Exceptions available under 35 USC 102(b)
Regarding Claim 1:
Jiang discloses an apparatus comprising:
a source that generates a telecentric charged particle beam (Fig. 1, para 27);
a stage configured to hold a workpiece in a path of a plurality of telecentric illumination beamlets (para 47);
an array of apertures disposed in a path of the telecentric charged particle beam between the source and the stage, wherein the array of apertures is configured to divide the telecentric charged particle beam into the plurality of telecentric illumination beamlets (Fig. 7 (118));
a field lens disposed in the path of the telecentric illumination beamlets at an intermediate image plane (Fig. 7 (710));
a transfer lens disposed in the path of the telecentric illumination beamlets between the field lens and the stage (Fig. 7 (610));
an imaging lens disposed in the path of the telecentric illumination beamlets between the source and the field lens (Fig. 7 (702));
an upper scan deflector disposed in the path of the telecentric illumination beamlets between the transfer lens and the stage (Fig. 7 (612)); and
a lower scan deflector disposed in the path of the telecentric illumination beamlets between the upper scan deflector and the stage, wherein the upper scan deflector and the lower scan deflector are configured to scan the telecentric illumination beamlets (Fig. 7 (616), para 53-55).
Regarding Claim 3:
Jiang discloses the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the telecentric illumination beamlets are configured to have a first crossover along the path of the telecentric illumination beamlets between the imaging lens and the field lens (as shown in Fig. 7), and
wherein the telecentric illumination beamlets are configured to have a second crossover along the path of the telecentric illumination beamlets between the lower scan deflector and the stage (as shown in Fig. 7).
Regarding Claim 4:
Jiang discloses the apparatus of claim 3, wherein the telecentric illumination beamlets have an angle at the first crossover configured to reduce Coulomb interaction. The angle of the crossover reduces Coulomb interaction in a similar fashion that the crossover at (618) does as described at para 50.
Regarding Claim 8:
Jiang discloses the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the telecentric charged particle beam is a telecentric electron beam and the source is an electron beam source. Para 49.
Regarding Claim 9:
Jiang discloses a method of inspecting a workpiece comprising:
generating a telecentric charged particle beam with a source (Fig. 1, paras 27, 49);
directing the telecentric charged particle beam through an array of apertures, wherein the array of apertures is configured to divide the telecentric charged particle beam to a plurality of telecentric illumination beamlets (Fig. 7 (118));
directing the telecentric illumination beamlets through an imaging lens downstream of the array of apertures along a path of the telecentric illumination beamlets (Fig. 7 (702));
directing the telecentric illumination beamlets through a field lens downstream of the imaging lens along the path of the telecentric illumination beamlets, wherein the field lens is at an intermediate image plane (Fig. 7 (710));
directing the telecentric illumination beamlets through a transfer lens disposed downstream of the field lens along the path of the telecentric illumination beamlets (Fig. 7 (610));
scanning the telecentric illumination beamlets as the telecentric illumination beamlets are directed through an upper scan deflector and a lower scan deflector disposed downstream of the transfer lens along the path of the telecentric illumination beamlets (Fig. 7 (612, 616), para 53-55); and
directing the telecentric illumination beamlets onto a workpiece on a stage disposed downstream of the lower scan deflector along the path of the telecentric illumination beamlets (Fig. 7, para 47).
Regarding Claim 11:
Jiang discloses the method of claim 10, further comprising correcting field curvatures caused by the image lens using the field curvature corrector. Para 38.
Regarding Claim 13:
Jiang discloses the method of claim 9, wherein the telecentric illumination beamlets are configured to have a first crossover along the path of the telecentric illumination beamlets between the imaging lens and the field lens (as shown in Fig. 7), and wherein the telecentric illumination beamlets are configured to have a second crossover along the path of the telecentric illumination beamlets between the lower scan deflector and the stage (as shown in Fig. 7).
Regarding Claim 14:
Jiang discloses the method of claim 13, wherein the telecentric illumination beamlets have an angle at the first crossover configured to reduce Coulomb interaction. The angle of the crossover reduces Coulomb interaction in a similar fashion that the crossover at (618) does as described at para 50.
Regarding Claim 17:
Jiang discloses the method of claim 9, wherein the telecentric illumination beamlets have an off-axis blur of less than 5 nm as the telecentric illumination beamlets are directed onto the workpiece. Para 51.
Regarding Claim 18:
Jiang discloses the method of claim 9, wherein the telecentric illumination beamlets have a distortion of less than one pixel size as the telecentric illumination beamlets are directed onto the workpiece. Para 51 – without a defined pixel size the distortion amounts described anticipate the claim..
Regarding Claim 20:
Jiang discloses the method of claim 9, wherein the telecentric charged particle beam is a telecentric electron beam and the source is an electron beam source. Para 49.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2, 10, and 12 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WYATT A STOFFA whose telephone number is (571)270-1782. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 0700-1600 EST.
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WYATT STOFFA
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2881
/WYATT A STOFFA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2881
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