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 § 112
Claims 14, 15, 22-25 and 37 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 14 recites the limitation “the output coupler”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Although claim 13 recites an output coupler, claim 14 does not depend upon claim 13.
Claim 15 inherits the limitations of claim 14.
Claim 22 recites the limitation "the illuminating laser radiation". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claims 23-25 and 37 inherit the limitations of claim 22.
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) 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 19, 22, 23, 24, and 25 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Suzuki et al. U.S. PGPUB No. 2016/0234920 in view of Kondo et al. U.S. Patent No. 6,324,255.
Regarding claim 1, Suzuki discloses a target metrology system for an extreme ultraviolet light source (“The present disclosure relates to an EUV (extreme ultraviolet) light generation apparatus” [0002]), the target metrology system comprising: a light source 421a arranged to emit illuminating laser radiation (“The light source 421a may be, for example, a xenon flash tube or a laser beam source which performs pulse-lighting” [0155]) and to illuminate a portion of a target material supply path with the illuminating laser radiation (“the droplet 271 having traveled through the target traveling path 272 may be irradiated with the pulsed light emitted from the light source part 421” [0157]); and a radiation receiver 422 arranged to receive the illuminating laser radiation after the illuminating laser radiation has illuminated the portion of the target material supply path (“The imaging part 422 may capture the image of the shadow of the droplet 271 irradiated with the pulsed light from the light source part 421” [0158]). Suzuki discloses the claimed invention except that while Suzuki discloses imaging the droplet 271 using imaging part 422 ([0158]), there is no explicit disclosure that the light source irradiates light at a center wavelength less than 400 nm.
Kondo discloses an apparatus for generating x-ray radiation from a laser produced plasma (“provide a target material in a feed-out direction to a specified target position and a laser to provide laser light to the specified target position to cause the target material to emit x-rays” [Abstract]), wherein “images of the plasma [are] taken in visible light or ultraviolet light” [col. 9; lines 60-61] (ultraviolet radiation is commonly understood to have a center wavelength of less than 400 nm, as evidenced by Dobrinsky et al. U.S. PGPUB No. 2016/0088868: “ultraviolet radiation/light means electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength ranging from approximately 10 nanometers (nm) to approximately 400 nm” [0027])
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 Suzuki for imaging the target material with the wavelength disclosed in Kondo in order to select a wavelength at which of light at which images of the target material may be produced to deduce the positioning of the target material at the time of imaging for informing correction of the positioning of the target material for irradiation by an ignition laser source to generate plasma-produced extreme ultraviolet radiation.
Regarding claim 2, Suzuki discloses that the radiation receiver produces an output signal indicative of a position of a target in the portion of the target material supply path (“to control a position of the droplet and a position of the plasma light, based on the image of the droplet and the image of the plasma light captured by the imaging part” [0007]).
Regarding claim 3, Suzuki discloses a position detection feedback system arranged to receive the output signal of the radiation receiver and adapted to compute at least one of a target position and a target trajectory based at least in part on the output signal (“With the above-described configuration, the imaging part 422 can capture the image of the shadow of the droplet 271 irradiated with the pulsed light from the light source part 421, and output the image data to the shooting controller 81” [0161] – “the shooting controller 81 may calculate the measurement position Cpm of the plasma light based on the acquired image data” [0675]).
Regarding claim 4, Suzuki discloses that the radiation receiver 422 comprises a target imager 422a and the target imager comprises one or more of: a camera or a CCD array (“The image sensor 422a may be a two-dimensional image sensor such as a CCD (charge-coupled device)” [0160]).
Regarding claim 7, Suzuki discloses that the target imager produces a shadowgraph (“The imaging part 422 may capture the image of the shadow of the droplet 271 irradiated with the pulsed light from the light source part 421” [0158]).
Regarding claim 8, Suzuki discloses the claimed invention except that while Suzuki discloses imaging the droplet 271 using imaging part 422 ([0158]) where “The light source 421a may be, for example, a xenon flash tube or a laser beam source which performs pulse-lighting” [0155], there is no explicit disclosure that the light source irradiates light at a center wavelength of about 266 nm.
Kondo discloses an apparatus for generating x-ray radiation from a laser produced plasma (“provide a target material in a feed-out direction to a specified target position and a laser to provide laser light to the specified target position to cause the target material to emit x-rays” [Abstract]), wherein “images of the plasma [are] taken in visible light or ultraviolet light” [col. 9; lines 60-61] (ultraviolet radiation is commonly understood to have a center wavelength of less than 400 nm, as evidenced by Dobrinsky et al. U.S. PGPUB No. 2016/0088868: “ultraviolet radiation/light means electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength ranging from approximately 10 nanometers (nm) to approximately 400 nm” [0027])
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 Suzuki for imaging the target material with the wavelength disclosed in Kondo in order to select a wavelength at which of light at which images of the target material may be produced to deduce the positioning of the target material at the time of imaging for informing correction of the positioning of the target material for irradiation by an ignition laser source to generate plasma-produced extreme ultraviolet radiation. Suzuki and Kondo discloses the claimed invention except that while Konda discloses ultraviolet imaging, and Dobrinsky evinces that this would include a wavelength between 10 nm to 400 nm (as discussed above), there is no explicit disclosure of imaging a target material with a laser radiation having a center wavelength of about 266 nm. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have imaged the target material with a laser radiation having a center wavelength of about 266 nm 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 have imaged the target material with a laser radiation having a center wavelength of about 266 nm for the purpose of selecting a wavelength at which of light suitable such that images of the target material may be produced to deduce the positioning of the target material at the time of imaging for informing correction of the positioning of the target material for irradiation by an ignition laser source to generate plasma-produced extreme ultraviolet radiation. In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235.
Regarding claim 19, Suzuki discloses the claimed invention except that while Suzuki discloses that “The light source 421a may be, for example, a xenon flash tube or a laser beam source which performs pulse-lighting” [0155], there is no explicit disclosure that the pulse has a duration in a range of 1 to 10 nanoseconds. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to form a pulse having a duration in a range of 1 to 10 nanoseconds 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 form a pulse having a duration in a range of 1 to 10 nanoseconds for the purpose of ensuring that a lighting pulse duration is sufficient based upon the moving speed of the target through an imaging area such that the lighting may coincide with the amount of time that a target spends in the imaging area, thereby providing an image having sufficient quality for the purpose of analyzing the position of the target material from the image formed of the target material passing through the imaging area. In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235.
Regarding claim 22, Suzuki discloses a target metrology method for an extreme ultraviolet light source (“The present disclosure relates to an EUV (extreme ultraviolet) light generation apparatus” [0002]), the target metrology method comprising: illuminating a portion of a target material supply path (“the droplet 271 having traveled through the target traveling path 272 may be irradiated with the pulsed light emitted from the light source part 421” [0157]) with the illuminating laser radiation (“The light source 421a may be, for example, a xenon flash tube or a laser beam source which performs pulse-lighting” [0155]); receiving as received illumination the illuminating laser radiation after the illuminating laser radiation has illuminated the portion of the target material supply path (“The imaging part 422 may capture the image of the shadow of the droplet 271 irradiated with the pulsed light from the light source part 421” [0158]); and imaging target material present in the portion of the target material supply path on the basis of the received illumination (“The imaging part 422 may capture the image of the shadow of the droplet 271 irradiated with the pulsed light from the light source part 421” [0158]). Suzuki discloses the claimed invention except that while Suzuki discloses imaging the droplet 271 using imaging part 422 ([0158]), there is no explicit disclosure that the light source irradiates light at a center wavelength less than 400 nm.
Kondo discloses an apparatus for generating x-ray radiation from a laser produced plasma (“provide a target material in a feed-out direction to a specified target position and a laser to provide laser light to the specified target position to cause the target material to emit x-rays” [Abstract]), wherein “images of the plasma [are] taken in visible light or ultraviolet light” [col. 9; lines 60-61] (ultraviolet radiation is commonly understood to have a center wavelength of less than 400 nm, as evidenced by Dobrinsky et al. U.S. PGPUB No. 2016/0088868: “ultraviolet radiation/light means electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength ranging from approximately 10 nanometers (nm) to approximately 400 nm” [0027])
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 Suzuki for imaging the target material with the wavelength disclosed in Kondo in order to select a wavelength at which of light at which images of the target material may be produced to deduce the positioning of the target material at the time of imaging for informing correction of the positioning of the target material for irradiation by an ignition laser source to generate plasma-produced extreme ultraviolet radiation.
Regarding claim 23, Suzuki discloses that imaging target material comprises producing an output signal (“the shooting controller 81 may calculate the measurement position Cpm of the plasma light based on the acquired image data” [0675]) indicative of a position of the target material present in the portion of the target material supply path (“to control a position of the droplet and a position of the plasma light, based on the image of the droplet and the image of the plasma light captured by the imaging part” [0007]).
Regarding claim 24, Suzuki discloses computing at least one of a target position or a target trajectory based at least in part on the output signal (“the shooting controller 81 may calculate the measurement position Cpm of the plasma light based on the acquired image data” [0675]).
Regarding claim 25, Suzuki discloses that imaging target material comprises using a target imager (“The imaging part 422 may capture the image of the shadow of the droplet 271 irradiated with the pulsed light from the light source part 421” [0158]).
Claim(s) 9 and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Suzuki et al. U.S. PGPUB No. 2016/0234920 in view of Kondo et al. U.S. Patent No. 6,324,255 in view of Bahlman et al. U.S. PGPUB No. 2007/0057211.
Regarding claim 9, Suzuki discloses the discloses the claimed invention except that while Suzuki discloses imaging the droplet 271 using imaging part 422 ([0158]) where “The light source 421a may be, for example, a xenon flash tube or a laser beam source which performs pulse-lighting” [0155], there is no explicit disclosure that the light source comprises a frequency-multiplied Ti:sapphire laser arranged to receive a pump beam and to emit the illuminating laser radiation at a center wavelength in a range from about 250 nm to about 450 nm wherein the Ti:sapphire laser comprises a dichroic optical element arranged to receive the pump beam, a Ti:sapphire crystal, and an output coupler.
Kondo discloses an apparatus for generating x-ray radiation from a laser produced plasma (“provide a target material in a feed-out direction to a specified target position and a laser to provide laser light to the specified target position to cause the target material to emit x-rays” [Abstract]), wherein “images of the plasma [are] taken in visible light or ultraviolet light” [col. 9; lines 60-61] (ultraviolet radiation is commonly understood to have a center wavelength of less than 400 nm, as evidenced by Dobrinsky et al. U.S. PGPUB No. 2016/0088868: “ultraviolet radiation/light means electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength ranging from approximately 10 nanometers (nm) to approximately 400 nm” [0027])
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 Suzuki for imaging the target material with the wavelength disclosed in Kondo in order to select a wavelength at which of light at which images of the target material may be produced to deduce the positioning of the target material at the time of imaging for informing correction of the positioning of the target material for irradiation by an ignition laser source to generate plasma-produced extreme ultraviolet radiation. Suzuki and Kondo discloses the claimed invention except that while Konda discloses ultraviolet imaging, and Dobrinsky evinces that this would include a wavelength between 10 nm to 400 nm (as discussed above), there is no explicit disclosure of imaging a target material with a laser radiation having a center wavelength of about 380 nm. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have imaged the target material with a laser radiation having a center wavelength of about 380 nm 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 have imaged the target material with a laser radiation having a center wavelength of about 380 nm for the purpose of selecting a wavelength at which of light suitable such that images of the target material may be produced to deduce the positioning of the target material at the time of imaging for informing correction of the positioning of the target material for irradiation by an ignition laser source to generate plasma-produced extreme ultraviolet radiation. In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235.
Suzuki and Kondo disclose the claimed invention except that there is no explicit disclosure that the light source comprises a frequency-multiplied Ti:sapphire laser arranged to receive a pump beam and to emit the illuminating laser radiation wherein the Ti:sapphire laser comprises a dichroic optical element arranged to receive the pump beam, a Ti:sapphire crystal, and an output coupler.
Bahlman discloses an imager (“During imaging at different depths in the sample, for example, the laser power can be automatically adjusted, so that the laser power can be increased at higher penetration depth” [0092]) using a frequency-multiplied Ti:sapphire laser arranged to receive a pump beam and to emit the illuminating laser radiation (“The light source 12 used is a Ti-Sapphire (Ti-Sa) laser (Tsunami, Spectra-Physics, Mountain View, Calif.) pumped by a continuous wave, diode-pumped, frequency-doubled Nd:YVO.sub.4 laser (Millenia, Spectra-Physics, Mountain View, Calif.)” [0058]) wherein the Ti:sapphire laser comprises a dichroic optical element arranged to receive the pump beam (“A beam splitter, serial dichroic mirrors or a top hat holographic filter can be used to provide a more uniform array of beams delivered to the individual focal positions” [0064]). 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 Suzuki and Kondo with the laser source of Bahlman in order to utilize a commercially available laser to embody the generic laser described in Suzuki, where one would have been motivated to select a laser source that is known to be applied in an imaging method, as taught by Bahlman.
Regarding claim 10, Suzuki discloses the discloses the claimed invention except that while Suzuki discloses imaging the droplet 271 using imaging part 422 ([0158]) where “The light source 421a may be, for example, a xenon flash tube or a laser beam source which performs pulse-lighting” [0155], there is no explicit disclosure that the light source comprises a frequency-multiplied Ti:sapphire laser arranged to receive a pump beam and to emit the illuminating laser radiation at a center wavelength in a range from about 250 nm to about 450 nm wherein the Ti:sapphire laser comprises a dichroic optical element arranged to receive the pump beam, a Ti:sapphire crystal, and an output coupler.
Kondo discloses an apparatus for generating x-ray radiation from a laser produced plasma (“provide a target material in a feed-out direction to a specified target position and a laser to provide laser light to the specified target position to cause the target material to emit x-rays” [Abstract]), wherein “images of the plasma [are] taken in visible light or ultraviolet light” [col. 9; lines 60-61] (ultraviolet radiation is commonly understood to have a center wavelength of less than 400 nm, as evidenced by Dobrinsky et al. U.S. PGPUB No. 2016/0088868: “ultraviolet radiation/light means electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength ranging from approximately 10 nanometers (nm) to approximately 400 nm” [0027])
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 Suzuki for imaging the target material with the wavelength disclosed in Kondo in order to select a wavelength at which of light at which images of the target material may be produced to deduce the positioning of the target material at the time of imaging for informing correction of the positioning of the target material for irradiation by an ignition laser source to generate plasma-produced extreme ultraviolet radiation. Suzuki and Kondo discloses the claimed invention except that while Konda discloses ultraviolet imaging, and Dobrinsky evinces that this would include a wavelength between 10 nm to 400 nm (as discussed above), there is no explicit disclosure of imaging a target material with a laser radiation having a center wavelength of about 380 nm. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have imaged the target material with a laser radiation having a center wavelength of about 380 nm 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 have imaged the target material with a laser radiation having a center wavelength of about 380 nm for the purpose of selecting a wavelength at which of light suitable such that images of the target material may be produced to deduce the positioning of the target material at the time of imaging for informing correction of the positioning of the target material for irradiation by an ignition laser source to generate plasma-produced extreme ultraviolet radiation. In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235.
Suzuki and Kondo disclose the claimed invention except that there is no explicit disclosure that the light source comprises a frequency-multiplied Ti:sapphire laser arranged to receive a pump beam and to emit the illuminating laser radiation wherein the Ti:sapphire laser comprises a dichroic optical element arranged to receive the pump beam, a Ti:sapphire crystal, and an output coupler.
Bahlman discloses an imager (“During imaging at different depths in the sample, for example, the laser power can be automatically adjusted, so that the laser power can be increased at higher penetration depth” [0092]) using a frequency-multiplied Ti:sapphire laser arranged to receive a pump beam and to emit the illuminating laser radiation (“The light source 12 used is a Ti-Sapphire (Ti-Sa) laser (Tsunami, Spectra-Physics, Mountain View, Calif.) pumped by a continuous wave, diode-pumped, frequency-doubled Nd:YVO.sub.4 laser (Millenia, Spectra-Physics, Mountain View, Calif.)” [0058]) wherein the Ti:sapphire laser comprises a dichroic optical element arranged to receive the pump beam (“A beam splitter, serial dichroic mirrors or a top hat holographic filter can be used to provide a more uniform array of beams delivered to the individual focal positions” [0064]). 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 Suzuki and Kondo with the laser source of Bahlman in order to utilize a commercially available laser to embody the generic laser described in Suzuki, where one would have been motivated to select a laser source that is known to be applied in an imaging method, as taught by Bahlman.
Claim(s) 11 and 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Suzuki et al. U.S. PGPUB No. 2016/0234920 in view of Kondo et al. U.S. Patent No. 6,324,255 in futher view of Zickler U.S. PGPUB No. 2009/0275929 in further view of Yun U.S. PGPUB No. 2019/0296521.
Regarding claim 11, Suzuki discloses the discloses the claimed invention except that while Suzuki discloses imaging the droplet 271 using imaging part 422 ([0158]) where “The light source 421a may be, for example, a xenon flash tube or a laser beam source which performs pulse-lighting” [0155], there is no explicit disclosure that the light source includes a diode pumped solid state (DPSS) laser arranged to produce the pump beam, the pump beam having a center wavelength of about 532 nm wherein the DPSS laser includes an Nd:YAG laser and a frequency multiplier arranged to receive the beam and for producing the pump beam.
Zickler discloses a laser beam source including a diode pumped solid state (DPSS) laser arranged to produce the pump beam, the pump beam wherein the DPSS laser includes an Nd:YAG laser and a frequency multiplier arranged to receive the beam and for producing the pump beam (“the laser 87 may be one of several types of flashlamp- or diode-pumped solid-state lasers (such as, Nd:YAG, Nd:YLF, HoYLF, Er:YAG, alexandrite, Ti:sapphire, or others) operating in the fundamental mode or a frequency-multiplied mode” [0050]). 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 Suzuki and Kondo with the laser source of Zickler in order to utilize a commercially available laser to embody the generic laser described in Suzuki, where one would have been motivated to select a laser source that is known to be applied in an imaging method, as taught by Zickler. Suzuki, Kondo, and Zickler disclose the claimed invention except that while Suzuki discloses a laser source, and Zickler discloses a specific type of laser source, there is no explicit disclosure of forming a laser using a pump beam having a center wavelength of about 532 nm.
Yun discloses a laser system utilized in imaging (“Such lasers can allow new approaches in imaging, diagnosis, and therapies, and allow two-way interactions with the biological system” [0014]) wherein “The pump light source was a microchip laser emitting at 532 nm with a repetition rate of 5 kHz and a pulse duration of ˜2.5 ns” [0211]. 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 Suzuki, Kondo, and Zickler with the laser source of Yun in order to utilize a commercially available laser to embody the generic laser described in Suzuki, where one would have been motivated to select a laser source that is known to be applied in an imaging method, as taught by Yun.
Regarding claim 12, Suzuki discloses the discloses the claimed invention except that while Suzuki discloses imaging the droplet 271 using imaging part 422 ([0158]) where “The light source 421a may be, for example, a xenon flash tube or a laser beam source which performs pulse-lighting” [0155], there is no explicit disclosure that the light source includes a diode pumped solid state (DPSS) laser arranged to produce the pump beam, the pump beam having a center wavelength of about 532 nm wherein the DPSS laser includes an Nd:YAG laser and a frequency multiplier arranged to receive the beam and for producing the pump beam.
Zickler discloses a laser beam source including a diode pumped solid state (DPSS) laser arranged to produce the pump beam, the pump beam wherein the DPSS laser includes an Nd:YAG laser and a frequency multiplier arranged to receive the beam and for producing the pump beam (“the laser 87 may be one of several types of flashlamp- or diode-pumped solid-state lasers (such as, Nd:YAG, Nd:YLF, HoYLF, Er:YAG, alexandrite, Ti:sapphire, or others) operating in the fundamental mode or a frequency-multiplied mode” [0050]). 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 Suzuki and Kondo with the laser source of Zickler in order to utilize a commercially available laser to embody the generic laser described in Suzuki, where one would have been motivated to select a laser source that is known to be applied in an imaging method, as taught by Zickler. Suzuki, Kondo, and Zickler disclose the claimed invention except that while Suzuki discloses a laser source, and Zickler discloses a specific type of laser source, there is no explicit disclosure of forming a laser using a pump beam having a center wavelength of about 532 nm.
Yun discloses a laser system utilized in imaging (“Such lasers can allow new approaches in imaging, diagnosis, and therapies, and allow two-way interactions with the biological system” [0014]) wherein “The pump light source was a microchip laser emitting at 532 nm with a repetition rate of 5 kHz and a pulse duration of ˜2.5 ns” [0211]. 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 Suzuki, Kondo, and Zickler with the laser source of Yun in order to utilize a commercially available laser to embody the generic laser described in Suzuki, where one would have been motivated to select a laser source that is known to be applied in an imaging method, as taught by Yun.
Claim(s) 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Suzuki et al. U.S. PGPUB No. 2016/0234920 in view of Kondo et al. U.S. Patent No. 6,324,255 in view of Bahlman et al. U.S. PGPUB No. 2007/0057211 in further view of Bruno U.S. Patent No. 7,991,028.
Regarding claim 13, Suzuki, Kondo, and Bahlman disclose the claimed invention, except that while Suzuki discloses imaging using a laser source (as discussed above), Kondo discloses imaging using a laser source at the claimed wavelength (as discussed above), and Bahlman discloses forming a laser using the claimed laser source (as discussed above), there is no explicit disclosure that the Ti:sapphire laser comprises a dichroic optical element arranged to receive the pump beam, a Ti:sapphire crystal, and an output coupler.
Bruno discloses a tunable laser source including a Ti:sapphire laser comprising a dichroic optical element arranged to receive the pump beam, a Ti:sapphire crystal, and an output coupler (“FIG. 6 schematically illustrates a stable hemispherical resonator 90 that includes a Ti:Sapphire lasing medium 92 having entry and exit faces 93, 94 cut at Brewster's angle. This embodiment also incorporates a BASE module pump laser, stable monolithic resonator, doubling crystal, imaging lens pair, and a hemispherical cavity with the broadly tunable medium. This hemispherical resonator also contains contain tuning elements, linewidth narrowing elements and a Q-switching element. End mirror near the focusing lens is a flat dichroic using an anti-reflection coating on the surface nearest the pump source and a high reflector facing the tunable medium. The output coupling mirror uses a partially reflective coating at the lasing wavelength” [col. 9; lines 3-15]).
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 Suzuki, Kondo, and Bahlman with the laser source of Bruno in order to utilize a commercially available laser to embody the generic laser described in Suzuki, where one would have been motivated to select a laser source that is known to be applied in an imaging method, as taught by Bahlman.
Claim(s) 17 and 37 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Suzuki et al. U.S. PGPUB No. 2016/0234920 in view of Kondo et al. U.S. Patent No. 6,324,255 in further view of Regan et al. U.S. PGPUB No. 2020/0241151.
Regarding claim 17, Suzuki discloses the claimed invention except that while Suzuki discloses imaging the droplet 271 using imaging part 422 ([0158]) where “The light source 421a may be, for example, a xenon flash tube or a laser beam source which performs pulse-lighting” [0155], there is no explicit disclosure that illuminating a portion of a target material supply path with the illuminating laser radiation is performed at least in part using a fiber beam delivery system for conveying the illuminating laser radiation from the light source to the portion of the target material supply path.
Regan discloses a laser system (“The light used to illuminate the diffuse medium may be a light pulsed generated by a pulsed light source such as a pulsed laser, for example” [0014]) utilized for imaging (“A light pulse is emitted from a light source for illuminating a medium… An image sensor captures an image that includes an interference pattern generated by an exit signal of the light pulse exiting the medium interfering with a reference wavefront” [Abstract]), using a fiber beam delivery system for conveying the illuminating laser radiation from the light source to the portion of the target material supply path (“infrared emitter 105 may be fiber optic outputs that are provided light via fiber optic from a single laser source” [0059]).
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 Suzuki and Kondo with the optical fiber of Regan in order to utilize a mechanism for controllably steering laser light to an imaging region desired to be imaged via illumination by the laser light.
Regarding claim 37, Suzuki discloses the claimed invention except that while Suzuki discloses imaging the droplet 271 using imaging part 422 ([0158]) where “The light source 421a may be, for example, a xenon flash tube or a laser beam source which performs pulse-lighting” [0155], there is no explicit disclosure that illuminating a portion of a target material supply path with the illuminating laser radiation is performed at least in part using a fiber beam delivery system for conveying the illuminating laser radiation from the light source to the portion of the target material supply path.
Regan discloses a laser system (“The light used to illuminate the diffuse medium may be a light pulsed generated by a pulsed light source such as a pulsed laser, for example” [0014]) utilized for imaging (“A light pulse is emitted from a light source for illuminating a medium… An image sensor captures an image that includes an interference pattern generated by an exit signal of the light pulse exiting the medium interfering with a reference wavefront” [Abstract]), using a fiber beam delivery system for conveying the illuminating laser radiation from the light source to the portion of the target material supply path (“infrared emitter 105 may be fiber optic outputs that are provided light via fiber optic from a single laser source” [0059]).
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 Suzuki and Kondo with the optical fiber of Regan in order to utilize a mechanism for controllably steering laser light to an imaging region desired to be imaged via illumination by the laser light.
Claim(s) 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Suzuki et al. U.S. PGPUB No. 2016/0234920 in view of Kondo et al. U.S. Patent No. 6,324,255 in futher view of He et al. U.S. PGPUB No. 2005/0249248.
Regarding claim 20, Suzuki discloses the discloses the claimed invention except that while Suzuki discloses imaging the droplet 271 using imaging part 422 ([0158]) where “The light source 421a may be, for example, a xenon flash tube or a laser beam source which performs pulse-lighting” [0155], there is no explicit disclosure that the light source is adapted to produce the illuminating laser radiation having a line width not less than 4 nm.
He discloses an apparatus for imaging using a laser wherein the light source is adapted to produce the illuminating laser radiation having a line width not less than 4 nm (“For the case of a much broader (~0.6 cm-1) pump line width, the spectral measurement was conducted by using a 1-m double-monochromator in conjunction with a CCD camera system. The spectral resolution of the present system was determined to be ≈0.11 cm-1, which was calibrated by using an extremely narrow 532-nm laser line of width less than 0.005 cm-1, generated from a seeded single-longitudinal-mode Nd:YAG laser (PRO-230, from Spectra-Physics)” [0089]).
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 Suzuki and Kondo with the laser source of He in order to utilize a commercially available laser to embody the generic laser described in Suzuki, where one would have been motivated to select a laser source that is known to be applied in an imaging method, as taught by He.
Claim(s) 21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Suzuki et al. U.S. PGPUB No. 2016/0234920 in view of Kondo et al. U.S. Patent No. 6,324,255 in futher view of Zare et al. U.S. PGPUB No. 2019/0352247.
Regarding claim 21, Suzuki discloses the discloses the claimed invention except that while Suzuki discloses imaging the droplet 271 using imaging part 422 ([0158]) where “The light source 421a may be, for example, a xenon flash tube or a laser beam source which performs pulse-lighting” [0155], there is no explicit disclosure that the light source comprises an Nd:YAG laser and the illuminating laser radiation is derived as a harmonic of the Nd:YAG laser.
Zare discloses an apparatus for imaging using a laser wherein the light source comprises an Nd:YAG laser and the illuminating laser radiation is derived as a harmonic of the Nd:YAG laser (“Micro-particle image velocimetry (μPIV) was used to measure the droplet sizes in the study… the determination of droplet sizes was done by elastic light scattering using pulsed 2nd harmonic Nd:YAG lasers (λ=532 nm) plus additional optics” [0089]).
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 Suzuki and Kondo with the laser source of Zare in order to utilize a commercially available laser to embody the generic laser described in Suzuki, where one would have been motivated to select a laser source that is known to be applied in an imaging method, as taught by Zare.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 14 and 15 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Regarding claim 14; the prior art fails to teach or reasonably suggest, in combination with the other claim limitations, a target metrology system for an extreme ultraviolet light source, the target metrology system comprising: a radiation receiver arranged to receive illuminating laser radiation from a light source comprising a frequency-multiplied Ti:sapphire laser having a frequency multiplying element arranged to receive output coupler radiation from an output coupler having a center wavelength of about 760 nm and for multiplying a frequency of the output coupler radiation to produce the illuminating laser radiation at a center wavelength of about 380 nm and with wavelength tuning range from 250 nm to 450 nm and the light source is arranged to emit illuminating laser radiation at a center wavelength less than 400 nm after the illuminating laser radiation has illuminated a portion of a target material supply path.
Regarding claim 15; claim 15 would be allowable at least for its dependence upon claim 14.
Conclusion
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/JASON L MCCORMACK/Examiner, Art Unit 2881
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