Appeal No. 2001-0107
Application No. 09/143,505
heated to form crystallized regions in the exposed areas (id. at
col. 5, ll. 19–24), which are subsequently etched away in
hydrofluoric acid (id. at ll. 25–32). A single sided etching
process is illustrated in Figures 12–14, and described in
Embodiment 4, at columns 7–9.
The examiner’s rationale
The examiner maintains, in essence, that Noguchi teaches
every limitation of claim 1 but for the placement of a buffer
layer between the amorphous silica target and the quartz window.
(Examiner’s Answer at 3–4.) To remedy this deficiency, the
examiner relies on Kondo, which, the examiner urges, teaches the
use of an exposure mask in “similar arrangements and methods of
annealing photosensitive glass (which crystallizes in response to
laser radiation)”. (Id. at 4, ll. 1–4, citing Kondo, col. 4,
ll. 30–60, and Figure 1.) The examiner explains that it would
have been obvious to place the exposure mask taught by Kondo
directly above the target in Noguchi because Kondo teaches that
“it would have facilitated differential exposure of a
photosensitive glass to laser radiation.” (Examiner’s Answer
at 4, ll. 4–8.) The examiner argues that positioning the
exposure mask and the necessary mounting means directly above the
target would necessarily shield the chamber window from any
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