Appeal No. 2001-0929
Application No. 08/697,321
current (DC) voltage pulses are applied to repeatedly relatively
bias the conductive workpiece support and conductive wall portion
to ionize gas molecules injected into the treatment chamber to
create a non-continuous, pulsed DC plasma, and to accelerate and
implant ions from the plasma into the workpiece (Brief, page 3). A
copy of illustrative independent claims 1 and 27 are attached as an
Appendix to this decision.1
The examiner has relied upon the following references as
evidence of obviousness:
Nakayama et al. (Nakayama) 4,937,205 Jun. 26, 1990
Gruen 5,015,493 May 14, 1991
Chan 5,126,163 Jun. 30, 1992
Yoshida 5,206,180 Apr. 27, 1993
Kruger et al. (Kruger) 5,286,676 Feb. 15, 1994
(filed Jun. 15, 1992)
Shohet 5,289,010 Feb. 22, 1994
(filed Dec. 8, 1992)
Matossian et al. (Matossian) 5,374,456 Dec. 20, 1994
(filed Dec. 23, 1992)
Claims 27-32 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as
unpatentable over Gruen in view of Chan and Matossian (Answer, page
4). Claims 1, 5, 10 and 25-32 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. §
103(a) as unpatentable over Nakayama in view of Chan and Kruger
1Claims 27-32 were “substantially copied” from claims 1, 2,
4, 10, 12 and 14 of Shao et al. (Shao), U.S. Patent No.
5,654,043, which issued on Aug. 5, 1997, from an application
filed on Oct. 10, 1996 (Brief, page 2).
2
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