Appeal No. 95-3674
Application 08/122,981
Answer, page 5):
Line 51 of column 7 discloses an "average particle size of
0.08µm" which is equal to 80 nanometers. Therefore the
term "nanoporous" is obvious over the teachings of
Yokotani. Even the size of 8000 nanometers (8 µm) as
disclosed in line 43 of column 7 is obvious over the term
"nanoporous" because the particle size can be measured in
nanometers.
The examiner does not come to grips with the "nanoporous"
limitation. The fact that the particles in the layer of
figure 6 are on the order of tens of nanometers does not make
the layer a "nanoporous" material because the particles have
not been compacted and sintered. We do not agree with the
examiner's statement that a material is "nanoporous" because
the particle size can be expressed in nanometers. Any object's
size can be expressed in nanometers, but "nanostructured"
requires a size less than 100 nanometers.
In addition, claim 7 calls for "providing a nanoporous
semiconductor material" and then "fabricating p-type and n-type
thermoelectric semiconductor elements from the nanoporous
semiconductor material." Thus, claim 7 calls for making p-type
and n-type semiconductors out of nanoporous material,
apparently in accordance with the disclosure in the
specification that there can be "additional doping after
fabrication" (specification, page 4, lines 14-15). Claim 7
does not encompass forming the nanoporous material using p-type
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