DETAILED ACTION
In Response to election filed on 01/22/2026, claims 1-20 are pending. Claims 1-9, 12, and 17-20 are withdrawn based on the restriction requirement. Claims 10-11 and 13-16 are considered in the current Office 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
Applicant's election with traverse of Group II, claims 1-11 and 13-16 in the reply filed on 01/22/2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that the Applicant believes that the search and examination of all claims could be carried out without serious burden to the Examiner. This is not found persuasive because the application was filed under 35 USC 371; thus, unity of invention is use to determine if the claims have any common technical features. See MPEP 1893.03(d). In this case, the common technical features between Group I vs II, I vs III, and II vs III are not special technical features as they do not make a contribution over the prior art (see Requirement for Restriction dated 11/28/2025). Furthermore, in a 371 application, the basis for restriction (or lack of unity) arises from an analysis for “special technical features” and not search burden. In conclusion, the restriction is maintained.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Claims 1-9, 12, and 17-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected inventions, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on 01/22/2026.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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) 10-11, 14, and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by WO2020/126154 (“Hahn et al” hereinafter Hahn), machine translation provided.
Regarding Claim 10, Hahn teaches a method for producing a three-dimensional structure ([0004]), wherein the method comprises the following steps:
providing a photoresist composition comprising a polymerizable monomer and a photoinitiator ([0011], a liquid photoresist comprising at least one monomer and at least one photoinitiator system),
wherein the photoinitiator has at least the following electronic quantum mechanical energy states:(i) a ground state,(ii) a substantially optically excitable first intermediate state, and(iii) an optically excitable polymerization-inducing state ([0042]; furthermore, all photoinitiator inherently have above-mentioned electronic quantum mechanical energy state),
wherein the first intermediate state is energetically located above the ground state and below the polymerization-inducing state and has a lifetime of about 100ps to 10s ([0036]), and
wherein the polymerization-inducing state is optically excitable from the first intermediate state by a single-photon excitation of a predetermined wavelength ([0033], [0076], and [0086]); and
exciting the polymerization-inducing state of the photoinitiator by at least two sequential single-photon excitations ([0088], present invention excitation can be achieved by means of stepwise single photon absorption) of substantially the same predetermined wavelength to cause polymerization ([0017], the liquid photoresist, represented as a grey striped area, is irradiated with a first light source at a first wavelength Ai and with a second light source at a second wavelength hz. [0024], the wavelength of the first light source and the second light source is in a range between 190 nm and 900 nm) in at least a partial volume of the photoresist composition by irradiating the at least partial volume by means of at least one continuous-wave light source ([0025] and Figure 3, continuous wave laser 3 and a continuous wave laser 4) .
Regarding Claim 11, Hahn teaches the method according to claim 10, wherein the method further comprises:
removing an unpolymerized and/or incompletely polymerized remaining volume of the photoresist composition ([0078], a washing step is carried out in which uncured parts of the photoresist are removed),
wherein the polymerized at least partial volume of the photoresist composition corresponds to the three-dimensional structure ([0013] and [0016], materials are cured to polymerized to build corresponding three-dimensional structure).
Regarding Claim 14, Hahn teaches the method according to claim 13, wherein the content of the photoinitiator is 0.1% to 10% by weight based on the photoresist composition ([0030], preferably 1 wt.% to 5 wt.%, of the at least one photoinitiator system).
Regarding Claim 16, Hahn teaches the method according to claim 10, wherein the photoinitiator is selected from the group consisting of alpha-diketones ([0044], the photoinitiator system comprises at least one component of a group consisting of an α-diketone), beta-diketones, gamma-diketones, spiropyrans, merocyanines, carbazoles, thiophenes, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, triketones, photoenoles, (di-)acylgermanes, bis(germyl)ketones, and thioxanthones.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 13 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WO2020/126154 (“Hahn et al” hereinafter Hahn), machine translation provided as applied to claim 10 above, and further in view of US2020/0317870 (“Liang et al” hereinafter Liang).
Regarding Claim 13, Hahn teaches the method according to claim 10, but fails to teach wherein the photoresist composition further comprises a polymerization inhibitor.
However, Liang teaches the photoresist composition further comprises a polymerization inhibitor ([0051], the mixture includes monomer, polymerization initiator, and a polymerization inhibitor).
Hahn and Liang are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because both are in the same field of manufacturing a 3D structure using lithography to polymerize the materials. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modified the method discloses by Hahn such that the photoresist composition further comprises a polymerization inhibitor as taught by Liang to stop the photopolymerization of the mixture ([0073]) and forming porosity within the 3D structure ([0081]).
Regarding Claim 15, the modified Hahn teaches the method according to claim 13, wherein the polymerization inhibitor is selected from the group consisting of 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-4- piperidyl-1-oxyl (TEMPO) and derivatives thereof, bis(2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-4-piperidyl-1-oxyl) sebacate (BTPOS) and derivatives thereof, other hindered amine light stabilizers (HALS), 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane (DABCO), n-propyl gallate (NPG), p- phenylenediamine (PPD), cyclodextrines, phenothiazines (Liang, [0069], polymerization inhibitor might be phenothiazine), hydroxylamines, quinones, mequinol, 4-tert-butylcatechol (TBC), butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), nitrobenzenes, phenol, p-nitrophenol, stilbenes, galvinoxyl, and azulene.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Single-photon three-dimensional microfabrication through a multimode optical fiber; Figure 1 discloses the structure for performing single photon absorption.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to XINWEN (Cindy) YE whose telephone number is (571)272-3010. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday 8:30 - 17:00.
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XINWEN (CINDY) YE
Examiner
Art Unit 1754
/SUSAN D LEONG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1754