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 .
Priority
Acknowledgement is made that the instant application is a national stage entry of application PCT/EP2023/079452, filed on 10/23/2023, which claims priority from US provisional application 63/425249, filed on 11/14/2022.
Claim Objections
Claims 7-9, 14, and 18-20 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 7, line 1, “the three portions” should be changed to --the three separate portions-- to improve antecedence.
Claim 8, line 1, “the three portions” should be changed to --the three separate portions-- to improve antecedence.
Claim 9, line 1, “the three portions” should be changed to --the three separate portions-- to improve antecedence.
Claim 14, lines 1-2, “the optical systems forms” should be changed to --the optical system forms-- to improve grammar.
The second, dependent claim 18 should be renumbered --claim 19-- to correct claim numbering. For the purposes of examination, the claim is referred to as claim 19 in the Office Action.
Claim 19 should be renumbered --claim 20-- to correct claim numbering. For the purposes of examination, the claim is referred to as claim 20 in the Office Action. Additionally, in line 1, “the method of claim 18” should be changed to --the method of claim 19-- to correct dependency from correctly renumbered claim 19.
Claim 20 should be renumbered --claim 21-- to correct claim numbering. For the purposes of examination, the claim is referred to as claim 21 in the Office Action. Additionally, in line 1, “the method of claim 18” should be changed to --the method of claim 20-- to correct dependency from correctly renumbered claim 20.
Appropriate correction is required to place claims in better form.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claims 1, 13, 16, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Van Der Laan e al. (US Patent No. 6,028,660, Van Der Laan hereinafter).
Regarding claim 1, Van Der Laan discloses an optical system (Figs. 1-9, abstract, illumination unit 2) comprising:
a body (Figs. 1-9, col. 8, lines 59-67, col. 9, lines 1-18, prism system 15) having at least one transmissive surface and at least one reflective surface for radiation incident on different sides of the body (Figs. 1-9, col. 9, lines 38-61, col. 10, lines 32-67, col. 11, lines 1-27, the prism system 15 includes transmissive entrance and exit surfaces and includes a reflective layer 31), wherein:
the at least one reflective surface on the body is adjacent to a recess, within the body, that creates an air gap for total internal reflection of radiation incident on the at least one reflective surface toward a first target or toward a sensor (Figs. 1-9, col. 6, lines 19-31, col. 8, lines col. 9, lines 38-61, col. 10, lines 32-67, col. 11, lines 1-27, lines 48-67, col. 12, lines 1-20, holes 33 or an air gap 37 on the reflective surface is present within the prism system 15 and total internal reflection occurs at the air gap, and light is directed from the light source to a target 104 or detector 45, photodiode 49); and
the at least one transmissive surface on the body is configured to transmit incident radiation through the body toward a second target or toward the sensor (Figs. 1-9, col. 8, lines 24-67, col. 12, lines 47-67, the transmissive surface transmits light in a direction toward either the substrate 104 or detector 45, photodiode 49).
Regarding claim 13, Van Der Laan discloses wherein the body comprises a transmissive optical cube (Figs. 1-9, 6-9, col. 8, lines 59-67, col. 9, lines 1-18, prism system 15).
Regarding claim 16, Van Der Laan discloses a metrology system (Figs. 1-9, abstract, illumination unit 2) comprising:
a radiation source configured to generate incident radiation (Figs. 1-9, col. 8, lines 24-37, col. 8, lines 59-67, col. 9, lines 55-58, radiation source unit 108, 3 generates radiation);
a sensor configured to generate a detection signal (Figs. 1-9, col. 8, lines 48-67, col. 12, lines 46-67, col. 14, lines 12-30, detection system 45, photodiode 49 detects radiation); and
a body (Figs. 1-9, col. 8, lines 59-67, col. 9, lines 1-18, prism system 15) having at least one transmissive surface and at least one reflective surface for radiation incident on different sides of the body (Figs. 1-9, col. 9, lines 38-61, col. 10, lines 32-67, col. 11, lines 1-27, the prism system 15 includes transmissive entrance and exit surfaces and includes a reflective layer 31), wherein:
the at least one reflective surface on the body is adjacent to a recess, within the body, that creates an air gap for total internal reflection of radiation incident on the reflective surface toward a first target or toward the sensor (Figs. 1-9, col. 6, lines 19-31, col. 8, lines col. 9, lines 38-61, col. 10, lines 32-67, col. 11, lines 1-27, lines 48-67, col. 12, lines 1-20, holes 33 or an air gap 37 on the reflective surface is present within the prism system 15 and total internal reflection occurs at the air gap, and light is directed from the light source to a target 104 or detector 45, photodiode 49); and
the at least one transmissive surface on the body is configured to transmit incident radiation through the body toward a second target or toward the sensor (Figs. 1-9, col. 8, lines 24-67, col. 12, lines 47-67, the transmissive surface transmits light in a direction toward either the substrate 104 or detector 45, photodiode 49).
Regarding claim 18, Van Der Laan discloses a metrology method (Figs. 1-9, abstract, illumination unit 2), comprising:
generating incident radiation with a radiation source (Figs. 1-9, col. 8, lines 24-37, col. 8, lines 59-67, col. 9, lines 55-58, radiation source unit 108, 3 generates radiation);
generating a detection signal with a sensor (Figs. 1-9, col. 8, lines 48-67, col. 12, lines 46-67, col. 14, lines 12-30, detection system 45, photodiode 49 detects radiation);
reflecting the incident radiation using at least one reflective surface on a body adjacent to a recess within the body that creates an air gap for total internal reflection of the incident radiation on the at least one reflective surface toward a first target or toward the sensor (Figs. 1-9, col. 6, lines 19-31, col. 8, lines col. 9, lines 38-61, col. 10, lines 32-67, col. 11, lines 1-27, lines 48-67, col. 12, lines 1-20, holes 33 or an air gap 37 on the reflective surface is present within the prism system 15 and total internal reflection occurs at the air gap, and light is directed from the light source to a target 104 or detector 45, photodiode 49); and
transmitting, with at least one transmissive surface formed on the body, the incident radiation through the body toward a second target or toward the sensor (Figs. 1-9, col. 8, lines 24-67, col. 12, lines 47-67, the transmissive surface transmits light in a direction toward either the substrate 104 or detector 45, photodiode 49).
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 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Van Der Laan as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Cappelli (WO 2022/112064, cited by 4/22/2025 IDS).
Regarding claim 12, Van Der Laan does not appear to explicitly describe wherein the optical system comprises a double quad mirror.
Cappelli discloses wherein the optical system comprises a double quad mirror (Figs. 5-8, 10, paras. [0093], [0095]-[0097], [0101]-[0102], [0104], [0113], [0115]-[0116], [0120], [0124], [0152], optical element 506, 516, 706, 716, 816, 1016 is a quad mirror with two reflective quadrants and two transmissive quadrants).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have included wherein the optical system comprises a double quad mirror as taught by Cappelli in the optical system as taught by Van Der Laan since including wherein the optical system comprises a double quad mirror is commonly used to direct optical paths of sub-beams as required for performance while reducing the number of overlay metrology systems (Cappelli, paras. [0005], [0089], [0095]-[0097]).
Claims 14 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Van Der Laan as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Cappelli et al. (Us PGPub 2019/0179162, Cappelli 162 hereinafter).
Regarding claim 14, Van Der Laan does not appear to explicitly describe wherein the optical systems forms a portion of an alignment and/or an overlay metrology system.
Cappelli 162 discloses wherein the optical systems forms a portion of an alignment and/or an overlay metrology system (Figs. 1-37, paras. [0066]-[0074], [0079], [0082]-[0083], [0090], the scatterometer measures overlay and includes a prism system).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have included wherein the optical systems forms a portion of an alignment and/or an overlay metrology system as taught by Cappelli 162 using the optical system as taught by Van Der Laan since including wherein the optical systems forms a portion of an alignment and/or an overlay metrology system is commonly used to utilize the optical system to direct measurement beams with the desired beam conditions to obtain accurate measurements for monitoring a lithographic process (Cappelli 162, paras. [0004]-[0006], [0063]).
Regarding claim 15, Van Der Laan as modified by Cappelli 162 discloses wherein the alignment and/or overlay metrology system comprises a radiation source configured to generate the incident radiation, and the sensor, the sensor configured to receive radiation from the first and/or second targets and generate a detection signal (Cappelli 162, Figs. 1-37, paras. [0065]-[0073], the scatterometer includes a radiation source 1 that generates radiation incident on the target 30 on the substrate W. The detector 18 receives radiation from the substrate target 30 and produces a signal processed by processing unit PU).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-11, 17, 19-21 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter.
Regarding claim 2, the prior art of record, either alone or in combination, fails to teach or render obvious wherein the at least one reflective surface comprises first and second reflective surfaces arranged in opposite quadrants of a first internal surface of the body, and wherein the at least one transmissive surface comprises first and second transmissive surfaces arranged in two remaining quadrants of the first internal surface. These limitations in combination with all of the other limitations of the parent claim would render the claim non-obvious over the prior art of record if rewritten.
Regarding claim 17, the prior art of record, either alone or in combination, fails to teach or render obvious wherein the at least one reflective surface comprises first and second reflective surfaces arranged in opposite quadrants of a first internal surface of the body, and wherein the at least one transmissive surface comprises first and second transmissive surfaces arranged in two remaining quadrants of the first internal surface. These limitations in combination with all of the other limitations of the parent claim would render the claim non-obvious over the prior art of record if rewritten.
Regarding claim 19, as renumbered as set forth above, the prior art of record, either alone or in combination, fails to teach or render obvious wherein the at least one reflective surface comprises first and second reflective surfaces arranged in opposite quadrants of a first internal surface of the body, and wherein the at least one transmissive surface comprises first and second transmissive surfaces arranged in two remaining quadrants of the first internal surface. These limitations in combination with all of the other limitations of the parent claim would render the claim non-obvious over the prior art of record if rewritten.
The dependent claims would likewise be allowable by virtue of their dependency.
Van Der Laan discloses a body (Figs. 1-9, col. 8, lines 59-67, col. 9, lines 1-18, prism system 15) having at least one transmissive surface and at least one reflective surface for radiation incident on different sides of the body (Figs. 1-9, col. 9, lines 38-61, col. 10, lines 32-67, col. 11, lines 1-27, the prism system 15 includes transmissive entrance and exit surfaces and includes a reflective layer 31), wherein: the at least one reflective surface on the body is adjacent to a recess, within the body, that creates an air gap for total internal reflection of radiation incident on the at least one reflective surface toward a first target or toward a sensor (Figs. 1-9, col. 6, lines 19-31, col. 8, lines col. 9, lines 38-61, col. 10, lines 32-67, col. 11, lines 1-27, lines 48-67, col. 12, lines 1-20, holes 33 or an air gap 37 on the reflective surface is present within the prism system 15 and total internal reflection occurs at the air gap, and light is directed from the light source to a target 104 or detector 45, photodiode 49), but Van Der Laan fails to describe or render obvious wherein the at least one reflective surface comprises first and second reflective surfaces arranged in opposite quadrants of a first internal surface of the body, and wherein the at least one transmissive surface comprises first and second transmissive surfaces arranged in two remaining quadrants of the first internal surface.
Cappelli discloses wherein the optical system comprises the optical element includes reflective quadrants and transmissive quadrants (Figs. 5-8, 10, paras. [0093], [0095]-[0097], [0101]-[0102], [0104], [0113], [0115]-[0116], [0120], [0124], [0152], optical element 506, 516, 706, 716, 816, 1016 is a quad mirror with two reflective quadrants and two transmissive quadrants), but Cappelli fails to describe or suggest at least one reflective surface on the body is adjacent to a recess, within the body, that creates an air gap for total internal reflection of radiation incident on the reflective surface toward a first target or toward the sensor, wherein the at least one reflective surface comprises first and second reflective surfaces arranged in opposite quadrants of a first internal surface of the body, and wherein the at least one transmissive surface comprises first and second transmissive surfaces arranged in two remaining quadrants of the first internal surface.
Fine et al. (US PGPub 2006/0039005) discloses an optical element with mirror elements and transmissive elements on opposite sides of the optical element (Figs. 9A-C and paras. [0087]-[0097]), but Fine does not describe or suggest at least one reflective surface on the body is adjacent to a recess, within the body, that creates an air gap for total internal reflection of radiation incident on the reflective surface toward a first target or toward the sensor, wherein the at least one reflective surface comprises first and second reflective surfaces arranged in opposite quadrants of a first internal surface of the body, and wherein the at least one transmissive surface comprises first and second transmissive surfaces arranged in two remaining quadrants of the first internal surface.
Conclusion
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/CHRISTINA A RIDDLE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2882
