Appeal No. 96-0523
Application 07/910,763
8 is not limited to any specific kind of signal and the
voltage applied to the power grid in Stopper is broadly a test
signal. Accordingly, the rejection of claim 8 is sustained.
Claim 11 recites that the power supply bus means and the
ground bus means are "predominantly formed" of metal film. It
would have been obvious to make the power grid of Stopper from
a metal film in view of Stopper's teaching that the signal
runs are made from a one micron layer of aluminum (col. 13,
lines 3-9 and 51-56) because power bus lines need to be made
from a material with good conductivity, such as aluminum. It
is not clear that "predominantly formed of metal film"
requires other material. "Predominate" means "to hold
advantage in numbers or quantity." Webster's New Collegiate
Dictionary (1977). The term "predominantly" appears broad
enough to encompass bus means that are wholly formed of metal
film. Claim 11 does not require the specific low electrical
resistance portions recited in claim 10. The rejection of
claim 11 is sustained.
Claim 12 recites a "method of testing a plurality of
semiconductor chips while they are still on a single wafer" in
the preamble. The "forming" steps of claim 12 form structure
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