Appeal No. 1996-1644
Application No. 07/933,147
produced by such methods as sputtering or plasma CVD with
oxidizing plasma and coating the resulting substrate with an
organic amine compound to form a compact monomolecular
adsorption layer. See column 7, lines 3-15, together with
column 6, lines 47-52 and the abstract. The diamond-like
carbon of Suzuki is synthesized by a plasma assisted chemical
vapor deposition (plasma CVD) technique which, according to
Sato, is known to produce synthetic diamonds. Compare Sato,
abstract with Suzuki, column 6, lines 47-52.
The examiner recognizes that both Mino and Suzuki do not
specifically mention using a R.F. oxygen plasma at 25-200
watts and for periods of 10 sec. to 20 min for oxidizing the
surface of a diamond. See the Answer, pages 5 and 7.
However, the examiner finds, and appellants do not dispute,
that a R.F. oxygen plasma is a conventional or standard oxygen
plasma technique for “the taught results of making a surface
hydrophilic.” Compare the Answer, page 5, with the Brief and
the Reply Brief in their entirety. The examiner also finds,
and appellants do not dispute, that the properties of the
claimed powder are significantly affected by variation of
various treatment parameters, including the treatment time and
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