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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement filed 06/06/2024 fails to comply with 37 CFR 1.98(a)(2), which requires a legible copy of each cited foreign patent document; each non-patent literature publication or that portion which caused it to be listed; and all other information or that portion which caused it to be listed. It has been placed in the application file, but the information referred to therein has not been considered.
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.
Claim(s) 1-4, 6-8, 10, 16-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over in KR 101152798 B1 (Hoon) view of US 20100253986 A1 (Awatsuji et al.).
Regarding claim 1:
Hoon discloses a holographic microscope (See Abstract and Fig. 3.) comprising:
an input optical system configured to emit a polarized input beam (Fig. 3, Optical system [10] and para. [0022], [10] emits light in polarized states.);
a first beam splitter (Fig. 3, Beam splitter [23]) configured to emit an object beam by reflecting a portion of the polarized input beam, and emit a reference beam by transmitting a remaining portion of the polarized input beam (Para. [0037] the light output from beam splitter [23] is separated into an object beam and a reference beam.);
a reference optical system (Fig. 3, system [30]) configured to separate the reference beam into a first reference beam and a second reference beam (Fig. 3 and Para. [0052], Optical system [30] outputs a first and second reference light.);
a camera (Fig. 3, image pickup unit [40] is the camera) configured to receive the first reference beam, the second reference beam, and the object beam that is reflected by an inspection object (Para. [0038], [40] receives the light from the first and second reference beams and the object beam.) and
wherein a first polarization direction of the first reference beam is substantially perpendicular to a second polarization direction of the second reference beam (Para. [0053], the first reference light is vertically polarized while the second reference light is horizontally polarized.).
Hoon fails to teach,
a micro polarizer array adjacent to the camera,
wherein each of the first reference beam, the second reference beam and the object beam passes through the micro polarizer array before being received by the camera,
Awatsuji teaches a holographic microscope (See abstract) comprising:
a camera (Fig. 54, camera [3]),
an object beam (Fig. 53 and Para. [0298], object light beams), and
a first reference beam and a second reference beam (Fig. 53 and Para. [0298] Multiple reference light beams formed by wave plate [91]),
a micro polarizer array (Figs. 53 and 54, polarizer array [89]) adjacent to the camera [3],
wherein each of the first reference beam, the second reference beam and the object beam passes through the micro polarizer array [89] before being received by the camera [3] (Fig. 53, the reference beams and object beams pass through [89] before being received by the camera.)
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have “a micro polarizer array adjacent to the camera,
wherein each of the first reference beam, the second reference beam and the object beam passes through the micro polarizer array before being received by the camera” as taught by Awatsuji in the holographic microscope of Hoon for the purpose of recoding the two different holograms formed by the two reference beams.
Regarding claim 2:
Hoon in combination with Awatsuji teaches the holographic microscope of claim 1,
Hoon further discloses wherein the first reference beam comprises an S-polarized beam, and the second reference beam comprises a P-polarized beam. (Fig. 3 and para. [0053]-[0054], although the first and second reference lights are not described as one comprising an S-polarized beam and the other the described arrangement of polarizing plates and mirrors )
Regarding claim 3:
Hoon in combination with Awatsuji teaches the holographic microscope of claim 1,
Awatsuji further teaches wherein a magnitude of a polarization component of the object beam parallel with the first polarization direction of the first reference beam is identical to a magnitude of a polarization component of the object beam parallel with the second polarization direction of the second reference beam. (Fig. 55 showing both polarizations are at a 45 degree angle to the vertical object beam direction and in opposite direction which results in the magnitudes of the polarization components parallel to the reference beams to be equal.)
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have “a magnitude of a polarization component of the object beam parallel with the first polarization direction of the first reference beam is identical to a magnitude of a polarization component of the object beam parallel with the second polarization direction of the second reference beam” as taught by Awatsuji in the holographic microscope of Hoon for the purpose of ensuring equal quality from the two formed holograms.
Regarding claim 4:
Hoon in combination with Awatsuji teaches the holographic microscope of claim 1,
wherein an angle between a third polarization direction of the polarized input beam and the first polarization direction of the first reference beam is about 45°. (Fig. 55 showing both polarizations are at a 45 degree angle to the vertical object beam direction and in opposite direction which results in the magnitudes of the polarization components parallel to the reference beams to be equal.)
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have “an angle between a third polarization direction of the polarized input beam and the first polarization direction of the first reference beam is about 45°” as taught by Awatsuji in the holographic microscope of Hoon for the purpose of ensuring equal quality from the two formed holograms.
Regarding claim 6:
Hoon in combination with Awatsuji teaches the holographic microscope of claim 1,
Hoon further discloses wherein the reference optical system comprises:
a second beam splitter (Fig. 3, beam splitter [31]) configured to separate the reference beam into the first reference beam and the second reference beam (Para. [0056], beam splitter [31] splits the reference beam from [23] into a first and second reference beam.);
a first polarizer on a propagating path of the first reference beam (Fig. 3, polarizer [33]); and
a second polarizer on a propagating path of the second reference beam (Fig. 3, polarizer [34]).
Regarding claim 7:
Hoon in combination with Awatsuji teaches the holographic microscope of claim 1,
Awatsuji further teaches wherein
the micro polarizer array [89] comprises a plurality of unit cells (Fig. 55, unit cells [90a] and [90b]), wherein each unit cell of the plurality of unit cells comprises a first pixel and a second pixel which have different polarization axes from each other (Fig. 55 showing that the pixels having different polarization.), wherein the first pixel has a first polarization axis transmitting only a P-polarized beam, and the second pixel has a second polarization axis transmitting only an S-polarized beam (Fig. 55 showing that the pixels have a polarization that is different by 90 degrees.), and wherein each of the first pixel and the second pixel correspond to pixels of the camera that are different from each other (Para. [0300], the pixels [90a] and [90b] each pixel corresponds to one pixel of the camera [3]).
Regarding claim 8:
Hoon in combination with Awatsuji teaches the holographic microscope of claim 7,
However neither Hoon nor Awatsuji teaches
wherein each unit cell of the plurality of unit cells further comprises:
a third pixel having a third polarization axis that is different from the first polarization axis of the first pixel and the second polarization axis of the second pixel; and
a fourth pixel having a fourth polarization axis that is perpendicular to the third polarization axis of the third pixel. (While Awatsuji teaches having 2 kinds pixels on the polarizer it is silent on the addition of additional pixel to form additional holograms.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to duplicate the pixels with differing polarization axis for the purpose of forming additional holograms, since it has been held that a mere duplication of working parts of a device involves only routine skill in the art. In re Harza 124 USPQ 378 (CCPA 1960).
Regarding claim 9:
Hoon in combination with Awatsuji teaches the holographic microscope of claim 1,
Hoon further teaches wherein the input optical system [10] comprises a polarizer (Fig. 3, polarizer [15]) configured to rotate a polarization axis of the polarized input beam (Para. [0022], polarizer [15] rotates the polarization axis of the polarized input beam (polarized light from light source unit [18]) to a vertical polarization state).
Regarding claim 10:
Hoon discloses a holographic microscope (See Abstract and Fig. 3.) comprising:
an input optical system configured to emit an input beam Fig. 3, Optical system [10] and para. [0022], [10] emits an input beam);
a beam splitter (Fig. 3, Beam splitter [23]) configured to emit an object beam by reflecting a portion of the input beam, and emit a reference beam by transmitting a remaining portion of the input beam (Para. [0037] the light output from beam splitter [23] is separated into an object beam and a reference beam.);
a reference optical system (Fig. 3, system [30]) configured to receive the reference beam and separate the reference beam into a first reference beam and a second reference beam (Fig. 3 and Para. [0052], Optical system [30] receives the reference light and outputs a first and second reference light.);
a camera (Fig. 3, image pickup unit [40] along with controller [50] is the camera) configured to generate a first hologram image and a second hologram image based on the object beam, the first reference beam, and the second reference beam (Para. [0060], controller [50] generates holograms based in the first and second reference lights captured at imaging unit [40]);
a processor configured to process the first hologram image and the second hologram image (Para. [0060], the control unit [50] measures and displays the holograms.), and wherein the first reference beam and the second reference beam are obliquely incident on the camera (Fig. 3 and para. [0053], the mirrors [32] and [33] reflect the first and second reference light respectively to form off-axis light.), and the object beam is perpendicularly incident on the camera (Fig. 3, the object beam is perpendicular to the image plane of image pickup unit [40]).
Hoon fails to teach
a micro polarizer array adjacent to the camera;
wherein each of the first reference beam, the second reference beam and the object beam passes through the micro polarizer array before being received by the camera,
Awatsuji teaches a holographic microscope (See abstract) comprising:
a camera (Fig. 54, camera [3]),
an object beam (Fig. 53 and Para. [0298], object light beams), and
a first reference beam and a second reference beam (Fig. 53 and Para. [0298] Multiple reference light beams formed by wave plate [91]),
a micro polarizer array (Figs. 53 and 54, polarizer array [89]) adjacent to the camera [3],
wherein each of the first reference beam, the second reference beam and the object beam passes through the micro polarizer array [89] before being received by the camera [3] (Fig. 53, the reference beams and object beams pass through [89] before being received by the camera.)
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have “a micro polarizer array adjacent to the camera,
wherein each of the first reference beam, the second reference beam and the object beam passes through the micro polarizer array before being received by the camera” as taught by Awatsuji in the holographic microscope of Hoon for the purpose of recoding the two different holograms formed by the two reference beams.
Regarding claim 16:
Hoon in combination with Awatsuji teaches the holographic microscope of claim 10,
Hoon further discloses wherein the first hologram image is generated based on interference between the first reference beam and the object beam, and the second hologram image is generated based on interference between the second reference beam and the object beam. (Para. [0060], a hologram is extracted from the first interference light and the second interference light respectively.)
Regarding claim 17:
Hoon discloses a holographic microscope (See Abstract and Fig. 3.) comprising:
an input optical system configured to emit an input beam (Fig. 3, Optical system [10] and para. [0022], [10] emits an input beam);
a beam splitter (Fig. 3, Beam splitter [23]) configured to emit an object beam by reflecting a portion of the input beam, and emit a reference beam by transmitting a remaining portion of the input beam (Para. [0037] the light output from beam splitter [23] is separated into an object beam and a reference beam.);
a reference optical system (Fig. 3, system [30]) configured to separate the reference beam into a first reference beam and a second reference beam (Fig. 3 and Para. [0052], Optical system [30] receives the reference light and outputs a first and second reference light.); and
a camera (Fig. 3, image pickup unit [40] along with controller [50] is the camera) configured to receive the first reference beam, the second reference beam, and the object beam that is reflected (Fig. 3 and para. [0050], image pickup unit [40] receives the object and reference light reflected from the object.); and
wherein a first incident angle of the first reference beam on the camera is different from a second incident angle of the object beam on the camera (Fig. 3 and para. [0053], the mirrors [32] and [33] reflect the first and second reference light respectively to form off-axis light to have an angle of incident on the camera different then the object beam.).
Hoon fails to disclose
by a wafer
a micro polarizer array adjacent to the camera
wherein each of the first reference beam, the second reference beam and the object beam passes through the micro polarizer array before being received by the camera,
Awatsuji teaches a holographic microscope (See abstract) comprising:
a camera (Fig. 54, camera [3]),
an object beam (Fig. 53 and Para. [0298], object light beams), and
a first reference beam and a second reference beam (Fig. 53 and Para. [0298] Multiple reference light beams formed by wave plate [91]),
a micro polarizer array (Figs. 53 and 54, polarizer array [89]) adjacent to the camera [3],
wherein each of the first reference beam, the second reference beam and the object beam passes through the micro polarizer array [89] before being received by the camera [3] (Fig. 53, the reference beams and object beams pass through [89] before being received by the camera.)
Neither teaches that the object inspected by the holographic microscope is a wafer. However either of the holographic microscopes of Hoon or Awatsuji would be capable of examining a wafer.
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have “a micro polarizer array adjacent to the camera,
wherein each of the first reference beam, the second reference beam and the object beam passes through the micro polarizer array before being received by the camera” as taught by Awatsuji in the holographic microscope of Hoon for the purpose of recoding the two different holograms formed by the two reference beams and to have the object be a wafer.
Regarding claim 18:
Hoon in combination with Awatsuji teaches the holographic microscope of claim 17,
Hoon further discloses wherein a third incident angle of the second reference beam on the camera is different from the second incident angle of the object beam on the camera (Fig. 3 and Para. [0004], the angles of incident of the reference beams and object beam are different with the off-axis holography method, “the off-axis holography method is a method of acquiring a hologram in a state in which the directions of measurement light and reference light are not parallel to each other and have a constant angle”).
Regarding claim 19:
Hoon in combination with Awatsuji teaches the holographic microscope of claim 17,
Hoon further discloses wherein the first incident angle of the first reference beam on the camera is different from a third incident angle of the second reference beam on the camera (Fig. 3 and Text under section “Summary of the Invention”, the angles of the first and second reference beams are different, “The reference light generating unit may include a first reference mirror and a second reference mirror that are inclined at mutually different angles” and “Wherein the first reference mirror reflects the first light in a vertically polarized state having passed through the third polarizer in a slant manner at a predetermined angle to form the first reference light, The second beam splitter reflects the second light beam at a different angle from the first reference beam to form the second reference beam”).
Regarding claim 20:
Hoon in combination with Awatsuji teaches the holographic microscope of claim 17,
Hoon further discloses wherein the first reference beam and the second reference beam are linearly polarized and have polarized axes that are different from each other (Para. [0053], the first reference light is vertically polarized while the second reference light is horizontally polarized.).
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over KR 101152798 B1 (Hoon) view of US 20100253986 A1 (Awatsuji at al.) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of US 20190187612 A1 (Sato).
Regarding claim 5:
Hoon in combination with Awatsuji teaches the holographic microscope of claim 1,
However neither Hoon nor Awatsuji teach
wherein the reference optical system comprises a Wallaston prism.
Sato teaches a holographic microscope (See Para. [0007]),
wherein the reference optical system (Fig. 12, Reference optical system [RX]) comprises a Wallaston prism (Fig. 12, the Wollaston prism [WP] and Para. [0156]-[0157], the Wollaston prism splits the reference light into two reference beams, an s-polarized beam and a p-polarized beam.).
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the reference optical system comprise a Wallaston prism as taught by Sato in the holographic microscope of the combination of Hoon with Awatsuji for the purpose of splitting the reference light into two reference beams travelling in similar directions with different polarization.
Claim(s) 11-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over KR 101152798 B1 (Hoon) view of US 20100253986 A1 (Awatsuji at al.) as applied to claim 10 above, and further in view of US 20190187612 A1 (Sato).
Regarding claim 11:
Hoon in combination with Awatsuji teaches the holographic microscope of claim 10,
Sato teaches a holographic microscope (See Para. [0007]) wherein
the processor (Fig 12, Computer [5]) is further configured to generate a first wave number domain hologram image and a second wave number domain hologram image by applying Fourier transform on the first hologram image and the second hologram image, respectively. (Para. [0155], the two hologram images have a Fourier transform applied to “express the received light using the wave number vector” thus generating the wave number domain hologram images.)
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have “the processor is further configured to generate a first wave number domain hologram image and a second wave number domain hologram image by applying Fourier transform on the first hologram image and the second hologram image, respectively” as taught by Sato in the holographic microscope of the combination of Hoon with Awatsuji for the purpose of separating the holographic images in the wave number domain.
Regarding claim 12:
Hoon in combination with Awatsuji and Sato teaches the holographic microscope of claim 11,
Sato further teaches wherein the processor is further configured to determine a filter comprising a first pass band centered at a first local maximum point of the first wave number domain hologram image. (Para. [0118], after applying a Fourier transform the results are filtered with a bandpass filter which requires determining the pass band for the first wave number domain hologram image.)
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have “the processor is further configured to determine a filter comprising a first pass band centered at a first local maximum point of the first wave number domain hologram image” as taught by Sato in the holographic microscope of the combination of Hoon with Awatsuji and Sato for the purpose of separating the holographic images in the wave number domain.
Regarding claim 13:
Hoon in combination with Awatsuji and Sato teaches the holographic microscope of claim 12,
Sato additionally teaches wherein the processor is further configured to generate a differential image of the first pass band of the first wave number domain hologram image and a first passband of the second wave number domain hologram image. (Para. [0162]-[0164], a conjugate image is obtained of the p- and s-polarized light after the Fourier transform and bandpass filter are applied.)
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have “the processor is further configured to generate a differential image of the first pass band of the first wave number domain hologram image and a first passband of the second wave number domain hologram image” as taught by Sato in the holographic microscope of the combination of Hoon with Awatsuji and Sato for the purpose of separating the holographic images in the wave number domain and remove noise.
Regarding claim 14:
Hoon in combination with Awatsuji and Sato teaches the holographic microscope of claim 13,
Sato further teaches wherein the processor is further configured to apply a parallel movement to the first pass band such that a local maximum point included in the first pass band is located at an origin. (Para. [0218] and Figs. 26A, 26B, 27A, and 27B, the direct image component (which is a local maximum point in the wave domain hologram image) is moved to the origin by applying heterodyne modulation (a parallel movement))
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have “the processor is further configured to apply a parallel movement to the first pass band such that a local maximum point included in the first pass band is located at an origin” as taught by Sato in the holographic microscope of the combination of Hoon with Awatsuji and Sato for the purpose of separating the holographic images in the wave number domain and remove noise.
Regarding claim 15:
Hoon in combination with Awatsuji and Sato teaches the holographic microscope of claim 14,
Sato further teaches wherein the processor is further configured to generate a real domain image by applying inverse Fourier transform to the first pass band. (Para. [0118], After the Fourier transform and bandpass filter are applied an inverse Fourier transform is applied to generate a real domain image.)
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have “the processor is further configured to generate a real domain image by applying inverse Fourier transform to the first pass band” as taught by Sato in the holographic microscope of the combination of Hoon with Awatsuji and Sato for the purpose of generating a real domain image.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 11016443 B2 (Kim et al.) further teaches the process of processing the hologram images of claims 11-15, US 20110292402 A1 (Awatsuji2), Further teaches a micro polarizer array, see fig. 2, US 9250064 B2 (Pfaff) further teaches a holographic microscope used to examine a wafer.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SETH D MOSER whose telephone number is (703)756-5803. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri, 10am-6pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Bumsuk Won can be reached at (571)270-1782. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SETH D MOSER/Examiner, Art Unit 2872
/BUMSUK WON/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2872
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