L 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 .
Election/Restrictions
Claims 4-8, and 10 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected species B-J, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on 07/31/2026. Applicant argues Fig. 2A should also be included as part of Species A. Applicant’s arguments are persuasive.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “inner side surface of the each of the first through holes”, “outer side surface of the first electrode” and the “outer side surface of the second electrode” must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-14 are 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 1 recites the limitation "the surface of the insulating film" in line 32. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Further, claim 1 recites “at least a part of the insulating film being provided between an inner side surface of each of the first through holes and an outer side surface of the first electrode and between the inner side surface of each of the first through holes and an outer side surface of the second electrode.” The specifications of the present disclosure explain “The plurality of first insulating films 40 is provided in each of the plurality of first through holes 80 between the outer side surface of the first electrode 92 and the inner side surface of the first through hole 80” (para. [0055]). Reference numbers 40, 80, and 92 appear in Figure 2A. Figure 2A as annotated below illustrates the examiners interpretation of the “outer side surface of the first electrode 92” and the “inner side surface of the first through hole” given there are no reference numbers indicating these claimed limitations (see drawing objections above). As shown in Figure 2A below, the insulating film is not provided between an inner side surface of the first through hole and an outer side surface of the first electrode. Therefore, it is unclear what is meant by this limitation and which parts of the electric component this limitation refers to. The specifications further clarify “[i]n other words, the plurality of first insulating films 40 are provided between the first substrate 2 and the first portion 10, the second portion 30 and the third portion 32 in each of the plurality of first through holes 80” (para. [0055]). As seen in Figure 2A below, the film 40 is indeed provided between the first substrate 2 and the first portion 10, the second portion 30, and the third portion 32. For the purposes of examination, the recited limitation will be interpreted to mean the insulating film is provided between the first substrate and the first portion.
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Claim 12 recites the limitation "third substrate plane" in lines 10 and 13. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
(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.
Claims 1-3, 9, 11 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being clearly anticipated by Yasushi Koyama (JP2005149819A), hereinafter referred to as Koyama.
Regarding claim 1, Koyama teaches an electronic component comprising: a first substrate including a plurality of first through holes, each of a plurality of charged particle beams passes through each of the plurality of first through holes (through holes 513 for the passage of charged particles (para. [0047])), a first substrate plane, and a second substrate plane provided on the opposite side of the first substrate plane (substrate 501) (Fig. 14b as annotated below);
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a plurality of electrode pairs, each of the plurality of electrode pairs being provided in each of the plurality of first through holes (electrodes 503a and 503b), and each of the plurality of electrode pairs including a first electrode including a first portion (electrode 503a), a second portion connected to the first portion, and the second portion including a first end, and a third portion connected to the first portion, and the third portion including a second end (Fig. 14a as annotated below),
and a second electrode spaced apart from the first electrode, the second electrode facing the first electrode (electrode 503b), and the second electrode including a fourth portion facing the first portion, a fifth portion connected to the fourth portion, the fifth portion including a third end, and the third end facing the first end, and a sixth portion connected to the fourth portion, the sixth portion including a fourth end, and the fourth end facing the second end (Fig. 14a as annotated below);
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an insulating film, at least a part of the insulating film being provided between an inner side surface of each of the first through holes and an outer side surface of the first electrode and between the inner side surface of each of the first through holes and an outer side surface of the second electrode (insulating layer 504) (see rejection under 112b above);
wherein a surface of the insulating film exposed from the first electrode and the second electrode in the vicinity of the first end and the third end is located outside of a first surface and a third surface, the first surface is an inner surface of the second portion, and the third surface is an inner surface of the fifth portion (Fig. 14a as annotated below), and wherein the surface of the insulating film exposed from the first electrode and the second electrode in the vicinity of the second end and the fourth end is located outside of a fifth surface and a seventh surface, the fifth surface is an inner surface of the third portion, and the seventh surface is an inner surface of the sixth portion (Fig. 14a as annotated below).
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Regarding claim 2, Koyama teaches the electronic component according to Claim 1, wherein a first distance between a first side surface of the first through hole and the third portion is equal to or longer than a second distance between the second portion and the third portion (Fig. 14(a) as annotated below),
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and the first side surface is exposed in the vicinity of the first end and the third end (Fig. 14a above),
wherein a third distance between a second side surface of the first through hole and the second portion is equal to or longer than the second distance (Fig. 14a as annotated below),
and the second side surface is exposed in the vicinity of the second end and the fourth end (Fig. 14a as annotated below),
wherein a seventh distance between the second portion and the insulating film in the vicinity of the second end is longer than the second distance (Fig. 14a as annotated below),
wherein an eighth distance between the third portion and the insulating film in the vicinity of the first end is longer than the second distance, wherein a ninth distance between the fifth portion and the insulating film in the vicinity of the fourth end is longer than the fifth distance between the fifth portion and the sixth portion, and wherein a tenth distance between the sixth portion and the insulating film in the vicinity of the third end is longer than the fifth distance (Fig. 14 below).
As shown in Fig. 14a, any distance between any of the portions will be less than any distance between a portion and the insulating film.
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Regarding claim 3, Koyama teaches the electronic component according to Claim 2, wherein a fourth distance between the first side surface and the sixth portion is equal to or longer than the fifth distance, and wherein a sixth distance between the second side surface and the fifth portion is equal to or longer than the fifth distance.
As shown in Fig. 14a, any distance between any of the portions will be less than any distance between a portion and the insulating film.
Regarding claim 9, Koyoma teaches the electronic component according to Claim 2, wherein the seventh distance is equal to or longer than a sum of the second distance and a film thickness of the third portion (As shown in 14a above the seventh distance is equal to the sum of the second distance and a film thickness of the third portion),
wherein the eighth distance is equal to or longer than a sum of the second distance and a film thickness of the second portion (As shown in 14a above the eighth distance is equal to the sum of the second distance and a film thickness of the second portion),
wherein the ninth distance is equal to or longer than a sum of the fifth distance and a film thickness of the sixth portion (As shown in 14a above the eighth distance is equal to the sum of the fifth and a film thickness of the sixth portion),
and wherein the tenth distance is equal to or longer than a sum of the fifth distance and a film thickness the fifth portion (As shown in 14a above the tenth distance is equal to the sum of the fifth and a film thickness of the fifth portion).
Regarding claim 11, Koyama teaches the electronic component according to Claim 1, wherein the insulating film includes silicon oxide (and the insulating layer 504 is made of silicon nitride film or silicon oxide film (para. [0044])).
Regarding claim 14, Koyama teaches a charged particle beam irradiation apparatus comprising the electronic component according to claim 1 (Fig. 21; reference numeral 101 denotes an electron source).
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.
Claims 12-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Koyama, as applied to claim 1 above, in view of Hauhito Ono (US 20040169147 A1), hereinafter referred to as Ono.
Regarding claim 12, Koyama fails to teach the electronic component according to Claim 1, further comprising: a plurality of first junction electrodes provided on the first substrate plane, each of the plurality of first junction electrodes being electrically connected to each of the plurality of first electrodes; a plurality of second junction electrodes provided on the first substrate plane, each of the plurality of second junction electrodes being electrically connected to each of the plurality of second electrodes; a second substrate including a plurality of second through holes and a third substrate surface facing the first substrate plane; a plurality of third junction electrodes provided on the third substrate plane, each of the plurality of third junction electrodes being electrically connected to each of the plurality of first junction electrodes; and a plurality of fourth junction electrodes provided on the third substrate plane, each of the plurality of fourth junction electrodes being electrically connected to each of the plurality of second junction electrodes.
However, Ono teaches a plurality of first junction electrodes provided on the first substrate plane (53’ is a wiring pad (figures 5-6), which is shown to be provided to first surface of substrate 400 in figure 8), and each of the first junction electrodes being electrically connected to each of the first electrodes (53’ connected to electrode 53 on 400 (see figure 4a and 5-6 respectively), [0055]); a plurality of second junction electrodes provided on the first substrate plane (52’ in figures 5-6), and each of the second junction electrodes being electrically connected to each of the second electrodes (52 see figures 4-6 and paragraph [0055]); a second substrate (500) including a plurality of second through holes (51’) and a third substrate surface facing the first substrate plane (top surface of 500 facing first substrate layer of 400); a plurality of third junction electrodes provided on the third substrate plane (pads 53P), each of the third junction electrodes being electrically connected to each of the first junction electrodes (fig. 5 shows 55P connected to 53’); and a plurality of fourth junction electrodes (52P) provided on the third substrate plane (as seen in figure 5), each of the fourth junction electrodes being electrically connected to each of the second junction electrodes (52P electrically connected to 52’).
Ono modifies either reference by suggesting a wiring substrate to provide power to the electrodes to the first surface of the substrate of either primary device. Since both inventions are directed towards blanker arrays, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to wire the device of Koyama as suggested by Ono because it “can form interconnections to a large number of blanking electrodes, which is not influenced by the contamination on a fabrication line, which effectively prevents removal and deformation of electrodes of an electrode substrate when this electrode substrate and a wiring substrate together forming a deflector are bonded, and which can prevent charge-up and stabilize electron beams even if the electrode substrate of the deflector is directly irradiated with the electron beams.” ([0008]).
Regarding claim 13, Koyama fails to teach the electronic component according to Claim 12, wherein the plurality of first junction electrodes, the plurality of second junction electrodes, the plurality of third junction electrodes, and the plurality of fourth junction electrodes include Au (gold).
However, Ono teaches the electronic component according to Claim 12, wherein the plurality of first junction electrodes, the plurality of second junction electrodes, the plurality of third junction electrodes, and the plurality of fourth junction electrodes include Au (gold) ([0072] 52’/53’ include gold “Au” and 52P and 53P are made by similar steps ([0070]), suggesting made of gold).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICA J. EINHORN whose telephone number is (571)272-4641. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri. 7:30am-5pm.
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/MICA JILLIAN EINHORN/Examiner, Art Unit 2881
/ROBERT H KIM/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2881
