Appeal No. 1998-1068
Application No. 08/472,833
diffuse through a narrow gap between the air locks and the vacuum chambers. (Col. 3, lines 65-68).
2. The Schultz Reference
According to Schultz, high quality, thin superconductor films can be produced by several
techniques including electron beam co-deposition, sputtering, molecular beam epitaxy and laser
deposition. (Schultz, p. 204). For many electronic applications, multilayer structures of
superconducting and insulating layers are needed. To form such multilayer structures, Schultz describes
the use of a target exchanger which provides three different rotating targets that can be selectively
moved into the laser beam. (Schultz, p. 208).
Opinion
The examiner has rejected claims 19 and 29-34 as unpatentable under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a)
over Behn alone or in view of Schultz. Behn is relied upon for its teaching of a chamber having multiple
vacuum areas to create zones of higher and lower pressure for use in different deposition processes.
(Examiner’s Answer, p. 4). Behn is also relied upon for its description of substrates mounted on a
rotating drum which passes through different zones, one of which is a lower pressure zone for vapor
deposition of a metal onto the substrate. According to the examiner, the main difference between Behn
and the claimed invention is Behn’s generic teaching of vapor deposition and exemplification of an
electron beam whereas appellant’s claims recite the use of a laser beam to form an ablation plume of a
4
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007