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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because element 67 in Figs. 1 and 4 is mislabeled as element 66. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a) because Figure 2 fails to show elements 64, 22, 24 and 14 as described in the specification (paragraphs [0048], [0049]). Any structural detail that is essential for a proper understanding of the disclosed invention should be shown in the drawing. MPEP § 608.02(d). Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Invention I, claims 1-10 in the reply filed on March 02, 2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 11-20 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 March 02, 2026.
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.
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.
Claims 1, 2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bacher et al. (US PG Pub 2003/0235228) in view of Fendel et al. (US PG Pub 2017/0110848).
Regarding claim 1, Bacher et al. disclose: a first pump light source (74) configured to generate first pump light (Fig. 6, [0068]); a first gain medium (60) configured to obtain a gain of first illumination light using the first pump light (Fig. 6, [0068]); a first bandwidth selector (etalon 68) (Fig. 6, [0068]).
Bacher et al. do not disclose: first prisms provided at one side of the first gain medium and configured to split the first illumination light; first mirrors provided at one side of the first prisms and configured to reflect the first illumination light onto the first gain medium; and a first bandwidth selector provided between the first mirrors and the first prisms to select a first wavelength bandwidth of the first illumination light.
Fendel et al. disclose: first prism (210 or 220) provided at one side of the gain medium (120) and configured to split the first illumination light (prism inherently splits the light from the gain medium) (Fig. 1, [0015]); first mirrors (230) provided at one side of the first prisms and configured to reflect the first illumination light onto the first gain medium (Fig. 1, [0015]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Bacher by adding the prism and reflectors of Fendel and also adding an etalon (bandwidth selector) between the first mirrors and the first prism in order to wavelength tune the output from the gain medium. The device as modified disclose: a first bandwidth selector provided between the first mirrors and the first prisms to select a first wavelength bandwidth of the first illumination light.
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Fig. 6 of Bacher
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Fig. 1 of Fendel
Regarding claim 2, Bacher et al. disclose: a first non-linear crystal plate (64) provided at the other side of the first gain medium; and a first filter(68) disposed adjacent to the first non-linear crystal plate (Bacher, Fig. 6, [0068]).
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bacher et al. (US PG Pub 2003/0235228) in view of Fendel et al. (US PG Pub 2017/0110848) and Essaian et al. (US PG Pub 2007/0253453).
Regarding claim 3, Bacher as modified do not disclose: further comprising a first illumination aperture provided between the first non-linear crystal plate and the first gain medium.
Essaian et al. disclose: aperture (18) provided between the first non-linear crystal plate (19) and the first gain medium (15) (Fig. 2, [0046]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Bacher as modified by adding an aperture between the first non-linear crystal plate and the first gain medium in order to remove unwanted polarization from the output beam.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bacher et al. (US PG Pub 2003/0235228) in view of Fendel et al. (US PG Pub 2017/0110848) and Bezel (US PG Pub 2020/0150445).
Regarding claim 4, Bacher as modified do not disclose: further comprising a first beam splitter disposed adjacent to the first filter.
Bezel discloses: a first beam splitter (1504) coupled to a laser (Fig. 15, [0081]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Bacher as modified by coupling a first beam splitter, detector, controller and sample to the illumination light source in order to use the illumination light source to inspect a wafer, a reticle or a photomask.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-10 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.
Claim 5 is allowable as the prior art fails to anticipate or render obvious the claimed limitations including “…a second pump light source configured to generate second pump light; a second gain medium configured to obtain a gain of second illumination light using the second pump light; second prisms provided at one side of the second gain medium and configured to split the second illumination light; second mirrors provided at one side of the second prisms and configured to reflect the second illumination light split by the second prisms; and a second bandwidth selector provided between the second mirrors and the second prisms to select a second wavelength bandwidth of the second illumination light.”
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Ospal et al. (US PG Pub 2004/0207845) disclose: an optical measurement system for evaluating a reference sample, having at least a partially known composition, includes a reference ellipsometer and at least one non-contact optical measurement device. The ellipsometer includes a light generator, an analyzer, and a detector. The light generator generates a beam of quasi-monochromatic light of known wavelength and polarization, which is directed at a non-normal angle of incidence relative to the reference sample. The analyzer creates interference between S and P polarized components in the beam after interaction with the sample. The detector then measures the intensity of the beam, which a processor uses to determine the polarization state of the beam and, subsequently, an optical property of the reference sample. The processor then can calibrate an optical measurement device by comparing a measured optical parameter from the optical measurement device to the determined optical property from the reference ellipsometer (Abstract). Wolf et al. (US PG Pub 2014/0375983) disclose: a system for monitoring thin-film fabrication processes is herein disclosed. Diffraction of incident light is measured and the results are compared to a predictive model based on at least one idealized or nominal structure. The model and/or the measurement of diffracted incident light may be modified using the output of one or more additional metrology systems (Abstract).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to XINNING(TOM) NIU whose telephone number is (571)270-1437. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 9:30am-6:00pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Minsun Harvey can be reached at 571-272-1835. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/XINNING(Tom) NIU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2828
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