Appeal No. 1997-3031
Application No. 08/411,509
"it is clear that without the use of dangerous pure ozone,
film of comparable quality can be grown by using diluted ozone
and UV irradiation."
With respect to the claim requirement of illuminating the
growing thin film by ultraviolet having a wavelength of 200
nanometers or less so as to increase the ozone content of the
oxidizing gas, the examiner relies on the Siegrist publication
as teaching that it is known that ozone absorbs UV radiation
very efficiently at wavelengths shorter than 300 nanometers.
The examiner thus argues that the selection of an optimized
wavelength within the "disclosed wavelength range" of Siegrist
would have been within the expected skill of the routineer in
this art. However, appellant points out that Siegrist, like
Yokoyama, is directed towards dissociating ozone, i.e.,
lowering the ozone content to produce excited states of atomic
oxygen and of O , not increasing the ozone content of the
2
oxidizing gas which is the requirement of the claims.
Moreover, contrary to the implied suggestions of the examiner,
Siegrist does not specifically state that ozone absorbs UV
radiation very efficiently at all wavelengths shorter than 300
nanometers. Indeed, appellant argues that the use of a UV
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