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 § 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.
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 –
(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.
Claim(s) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Fiolka et al. [US 20120287414 A1, hereafter Fiolka].
As per Claim 1, Fiolka teaches a facet mirror (6; 10) assembly (See fig. 1), comprising:
a plurality of individual mirrors, each mirror comprising a reflection surface (See fig. 4 and 5, Para 5);
a plurality of tilt actuators (Para 5);
a carrier body configured to carry the plurality of individual mirrors (See fig. 4 and 5),
wherein:
for each individual mirror, tilt actuators assigned to the individual mirror are configured to tilt the reflection surface of the individual mirror about a tilt axis around a neutral tilt position in a tilt angle range between a maximum angle and a minimum angle (Para 11, 36 and 54);
for each individual mirror, the individual mirror has at least two different neutral tilt positions in a range around a mean value of a total tilt angle range (Para 68-70, wherein the tilting in the X and Y each has a neutral tilt positions); and
the facet mirror assembly is a MEMS facet mirror assembly (Para 12).
As per Claim 2, Fiolka teaches the facet mirror assembly of claim 1, wherein, for each individual mirror, tilt actuators assigned to the individual mirror are configured to tilt the reflection surface of the individual mirror about two tilt axes, in each case around a corresponding neutral tilt position in a corresponding tilt angle range between a corresponding maximum angle and a corresponding minimum angle (Para 36).
As per Claim 3, Fiolka teaches the facet mirror assembly of claim 2, wherein, for each individual mirror and to define each tilt angle range, the individual mirror has at least two different neutral tilt positions, in each case in a range around a mean value of a corresponding total tilt angle range around the tilt axis (Para 68-70, wherein the tilting in the X and Y each has a neutral tilt positions).
As per Claims 4 and 5, Fiolka teaches the facet mirror assembly of claim 3, wherein the plurality of individual mirrors are configured as a plurality of groups, each group comprising facet mirrors having the same neutral tilt position (See fig. 6, Para 38).
As per Claims 6 and 10, Fiolka teaches the facet mirror assembly of claim 2, wherein a total tilt angle range is at least 1.1 times that of the individual mirror tilt angle range (Para 37).
As per Claims 7 and 11, Fiolka teaches the facet mirror assembly of claim 2, wherein, for each individual mirror: the individual mirror comprises a mirror plate 7 and a substrate body 28; and each tilt actuator assigned to the mirror is between the mirror plate and the substrate body (See fig. 6, Para 60).
As per Claim 8, Fiolka teaches the facet mirror assembly of claim 7, wherein, for each individual mirror and to define each tilt angle range, the individual mirror has at least two different neutral tilt positions, in each case in a range around a mean value of a corresponding total tilt angle range around the tilt axis (Para 68).
As per Claim 9, Fiolka teaches the facet mirror assembly of claim 1, wherein the plurality of individual mirrors are configured as a plurality of groups, each group comprising facet mirrors having the same neutral tilt position (See fig. 6, Para 38).
As per Claim 12, Fiolka teaches the facet mirror body of claim 11, wherein, for each individual mirror, the neutral tilt position is defined by a wedge shape of a wedge connecting section of the substrate body (See fig. 7, Para 67-70).
As per Claim 14, Fiolka teaches the facet mirror assembly of claim 1, wherein the facet mirror assembly is a field facet mirror (Para 6).
As per Claim 15, Fiolka teaches the facet mirror assembly of claim 1, wherein the facet mirror assembly is a pupil facet mirror (Para 6)
As per Claim 16, Fiolka teaches the facet mirror assembly of claim 1, wherein the facet mirror assembly is a specular reflector (Para 13).
As per Claim 17, Fiolka teaches an illumination optical unit configured to illuminate an object field with light from a light source, the illumination optical unit comprising: a facet mirror comprising a facet mirror assembly according to claim 1, wherein the illumination optical unit is a projection lithography illumination optical unit (See fig. 1).
As per Claim 18, Fiolka teaches an optical system, comprising: an illumination optical unit comprising a facet mirror assembly according to claim 1; and a projection optical unit having an object field and an image field, wherein: the illumination is configured to illuminate the object field with light from a light source; the projection optical unit is configured to image the object field into the image field; and the optical system is a projection lithography optical system (See fig. 1, Para 41).
As per Claim 19, Fiolka teaches an apparatus, comprising: a light source; an illumination optical unit comprising a facet mirror assembly according to claim 1; and a projection optical unit having an object field and an image field, wherein: the illumination is configured to illuminate the object field with light from the light source; the projection optical unit is configured to image the object field into the image field; and the apparatus is a projection exposure apparatus (See fig. 1, Para 41).
As per Claim 20, Fiolka teaches a method of using a projection exposure apparatus comprising an illumination optical unit and a projection optical unit, the method comprising: using the illumination optical unit to illuminate a portion of an object in an object field; and using the projection optical unit to project the illuminated object into an image field, wherein the illumination optical unit comprises a facet mirror assembly according to claim 1 (See fig. 1, Para 41).
Conclusion
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/MESFIN T ASFAW/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2882
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