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 .
The preliminary amendment filed on April 10, 2025, has been entered. Claims 1-21 are pending in this application.
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) 11, 12 and 16-21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Jeong [US 5852693 A].
As per Claims 11 and 21, Jeong teaches a radiation source apparatus 13 configured to provide used radiation, the radiation source apparatus comprising: a plurality of source modules configured to generate individual radiations that form the used radiation (See fig. 5, Column 1 lines 6-11 and Column 8 lines 14-38).
As per Claim 12, Jeong teaches the radiation source apparatus of claim 11, wherein the plurality of source modules comprise two source modules (See fig. 5).
As per Claim 16, Jeong teaches the radiation source apparatus of claim 11, further comprising a positioning device configured to position the source modules (Column 8 lines 27-38).
As per Claim 17, Jeong teaches the radiation source apparatus of claim 11, wherein the source modules are positionable at least partly independently from one another (Column 8 lines 27-38).
As per Claim 18, Jeong teaches the radiation source apparatus of claim 11, wherein each source modules comprises at least one member selected from the group consisting of: a mirrors and/or an ellipsoid mirror configured to align the individual radiations; a spectral filter configured to filter the individual radiations, a light source; and an optical unit (Column 9 lines 43-53).
As per Claim 19, Jeong teaches the radiation source apparatus of claim 11, further comprising a mixing device configured to mix the used radiation, the mixing device having an entrance surface 6 (See fig. 5).
As per Claim 20, Jeong teaches a lithography system, comprising: a radiation source according to claim 11 (See fig. 5, Column 8 lines 32-38).
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.
Claim(s) 1-3, and 6-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jeong.
As per Claim 1, Jeong teaches an illumination system configured to illuminate a reticle of a lithography system with a used radiation from a radiation source apparatus (See fig. 6, Column 8 lines 39-50), the illumination system comprising:
an optics device (See fig. 5), comprising:
an optical element 15;
a mixing device; and
an interface device 2 configured to input couple a plurality of individual radiations (from radiation sources 13) into the mixing device 11, the plurality of individual radiations formed from the used radiation (See fig. 5, Column 8 lines 14-38).
Jeong does not explicitly disclosed wherein the illumination system is configured so that a source étendue of the radiation source apparatus fills at least 50 percent of an optics étendue of the optics device and/or mixing device.
However, Jeong further disclosed the output surfaces 6 of the two apparatuses 1 are both coupled to a relatively large component 11, that is a light guide in FIG. 5, by interfaces 12, to produce a relatively large light field traveling along the second general direction in the component 11 (See fig. 5, Column 1 lines 6-11 and Column 8 lines 14-38).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at time the invention was made to incorporate the illumination system as claimed in order to create a relatively large light field with a desired intensity profile for image transfer.
As per Claim 2, Jeong teaches the illumination system of claim 1, wherein the mixing device comprises a mixing rod (See fig. 6, Column 8 lines 39-67).
As per Claim 3, Jeong teaches the illumination system of claim 2, wherein the illumination system is configured so that: the individual radiations are offset from one another at an entrance surface of the mixing rod; and the individual radiations are offset parallel to an optical axis of the mixing rod and from one another (See fig. 5).
As per Claim 6, Jeong teaches the illumination system of claim 1, wherein the interface device comprises a deflection mirror (Column 7 lines 50-62).
As per Claim 7, Jeong teaches the illumination system of claim 1, comprising a radiation source apparatus 13, wherein the radiation source apparatus comprises a plurality of source modules configured to generate individual radiations that form the used radiation (See fig. 5).
As per Claim 8, Jeong teaches a lithography system, comprising: an illumination system according to claim 1 (See fig. 5).
As per Claim 9, Jeong teaches the lithography system of claim 8, comprising the radiation source apparatus 13, wherein the radiation source apparatus comprises a plurality of source modules configured to generate individual radiations that form the used radiation (See fig. 5).
As per Claim 10, Jeong teaches the illumination system of claim 1, further comprising a positioning device configured to position the illumination system and/or the radiation source apparatus relative to the illumination system (Column 3 lines 4-9).
Claim(s) 4 and 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jeong as applied above, in view of Koehler et al. [US 20100195077 A1, hereafter Koehler].
As per Claims 4 and 5, Jeong teaches the system of claim 1.
Jeong does not explicitly teach the mixing device comprises a fly's eye condenser; and the fly's eye condenser comprises a field honeycomb device, a pupil honeycomb device, and a downstream secondary Fourier optics device.
Koehler teaches a device comprising a fly's eye condenser 380; and the fly's eye condenser comprises a field honeycomb device 383, a pupil honeycomb device 384, and a downstream secondary Fourier optics device 385 (See fig. 5, Para 62-66).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at time the invention was made to incorporate the beam shaping device as claimed in order to produce a desired illumination.
Claim(s) 13-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jeong as applied above, in view of Kawashima et al. [US 20020036904 A1, hereafter Kawashima].
As per Claims 13-15, Jeong teaches the radiation source apparatus of claim 11.
Jeong does not explicitly teach wherein the source modules are at least partly independently switchable; and a control device configured to switch the source modules.
Kawashima teaches the control system functions to control the outputs of the light sources in relation to the present invention. It comprises a control unit 190, a memory 192, and timer means 194. As shown in FIG. 13, the control unit 190 is connected to the lamps 102 and the sensors 188, and it controls the light quantities of the lamps 102 individually on the basis of the detection by the sensors 188 (See fig. 9 and 10, Para 104).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at time the invention was made to incorporate the beam shaping and controlling device as claimed in order to produce a desired illumination.
Additional Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The reference to Kroon [US 20060091327 A1] listed in the IDS filed on March 03, 2025 teach other prior art apparatus/method of a radiation system for multiplexing radiation that may anticipate or obviate the claims of the applicant's invention.
Conclusion
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/MESFIN T ASFAW/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2882
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