CTNF 18/870,245 CTNF 86952 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Specification 06-31 AIA The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-08-aia AIA (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. 07-15 AIA Claim s 16, 18-27, 32 and 34 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102( a)(1 ) as being anticipated by Lin et al. [US 2019/0148116 A1] . Regarding claims 16 and 25, Lin et al. discloses a shielding system (Fig. 1) for use in a surface treatment process of an object (120), comprising: a first disk (114) and a second disk (116); the first disk (114) and second disk (116) being arranged substantially parallel to each other (as shown in Figs. 2-5); the first disk (114) having a slit-shaped opening; and the second disk (116) comprising a plurality of openings (as shown in Figs. 2-5, see also paragraphs [0031] and [0036]), wherein the first (114) and second disk (116) are arranged to move (paragraph [0031]) with respect to each other around a common axis (300), whereby the slit can be positioned at one or more openings of the plurality of openings to form a passage through the shielding system (as shown in Figs. 2-5, see also paragraph [0032]), and wherein the passage is configured to expose only a selected area on a surface of the object subjected to the surface treatment process (paragraph [0022], see also Figs. 6 and 7). Regarding claims 18, 23 and 24, Lin et al. discloses wherein the plurality of openings is arranged at the second disk along one or more spiral arrangements, wherein the one or more spiral arrangements is a phyllotactic spiral, wherein the slit-shaped opening is a wedge shaped opening or a rectangular shaped opening (as shown in Figs. 2-5, see also paragraphs [0031] and [0036]). Regarding claims 19, 20 and 32, Lin et al. discloses wherein the shielding system is arranged to shield a first area of an object surface from a radiation and to expose a second area of the object surface to the radiation via the passage in the shielding system during the surface treatment process, wherein the radiation is a plasma, a laser radiation, an electron beam, or an ion beam (paragraph [0022], see also Figs. 6 and 7). Regarding claim 21, Lin et al. discloses wherein the first disk and the second disk are grounded during the surface treatment process (paragraphs [0042]-[0044], see also Fig. 8). Regarding claim 22, Lin et al. discloses wherein the first disk and the second disk are positioned and controlled by a controller (paragraph [0027]). Regarding claims 26 and 34, Lin et al. discloses a method of performing a surface treatment process on a selected area of a surface of an object, comprising: selecting the area of the surface of the object to be treated; shielding a first area of the surface, not being the selected area of the surface, by using the shielding system, from a radiation; and exposing the selected area of the surface to the radiation to perform selective surface treatment, wherein the radiation is a laser radiation with a wavelength in a spectral range of visible light and or ultra-violet light (paragraph [0022], see also Figs. 6 and 7), wherein shielding system comprises more than one opening for simultaneously exposing more than one burl (as shown in Figs. 2-5, see also paragraph [0032]) . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 17, 28-31, 33 and 35 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin et al. in view of Akbas et al. [US 2021/0202293 A1] . Regarding claims 17, 28-31, 33 and 35, Lin et al. discloses the shielding system / the method, as applied above. Lin et al. does not teach wherein the passage is configured to expose only one of a plurality of burls disposed at a surface of the object subjected to the surface treatment process. However, Akbas et al. discloses various burl designs for holding an object in a lithographic apparatus, wherein the support structure (burls) are etched to improve the flatness (paragraphs [0070] and [0092]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to expose one or more of a plurality of burls disposed at a surface of the object subjected to the surface treatment process, as taught by Akbas et al. in the system of Lin et al. because such a modification provides a suitable alternative functionality of one or more of a plurality of burls disposed at a surface of the object subjected to the surface treatment process to improve the flatness (paragraphs [0070] and [0092] of Akbas et al.). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DEORAM PERSAUD whose telephone number is (571)270-5476. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8AM-5PM. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Minh-Toan Ton can be reached at 571-272-2303. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /DEORAM PERSAUD/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2882 Application/Control Number: 18/870,245 Page 2 Art Unit: 2882 Application/Control Number: 18/870,245 Page 3 Art Unit: 2882 Application/Control Number: 18/870,245 Page 6 Art Unit: 2882
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