Appeal No. 97-3669
Application 08/391,745
We agree with the appellants. The specification defines
“decomposition” as follows (page 3, lines 6-12):
The term “decomposition” as here employed should
be broadly interpreted as referring to such processes
as, for example, chemical decomposition of an explosive
substance, rapid boiling or sublimation of a substance
having a high vapour pressure, fast emission of hot
combustion gases, rapid thermal expansion of product
gases produced in a chemical or physical reaction,
etc., all of which result in the release of relatively
large amounts of energy over a short timescale, and all
of which can be induced by sudden thermal excitation
(laser beam).
The specification further explains (page 3, lines 24-27):
Rather than being directly [vaporized] from the
substrate surface, as in the known method, the
electrode material is instead forcibly detached from
the underlying assistant material as a result of that
underlying material’s laser-induced decomposition.
Reasonably interpreted in light of the specification, the
claimed invention requires decomposition of the assistant
material in a manner such that large amounts of energy are
released over a short timescale, in an explosive manner, such
that the electrode material directly above the decomposing
material is forcibly detached by the massive release of energy.
Despite the fact that Aoyama’s adhesive layer can be made of
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