Appeal No. 1999-2580 Page 4
Application No. 08/753,598
the island were in its freely grown, relaxed, or stress-free, state. Because the thickness
of the island is equal to the number of atomic layers in the island multiplied by the
lattice constant, the height of the dot in its constrained state surrounded by the GaAs
layer is less than the height of the dot in its freely grown or unconstrained state”
[answer-pages 7-8]. The examiner further explains that the instant claims are drawn to
the situation where the spacer layer has substantially the same thickness as the islands
and this is the same situation taught by Solomon near the bottom of the first column at
page 955 since Solomon’s GaAs spacer layer thickness of 40 angstroms is the same
as the island thickness.
Specifically with regard to instant claim 1, the examiner employs the general
reasoning, as above, and further states, at page 10 of the answer:
Because the InAs dots within the GaAs layer are compressed as
compared to the “freely grown state,” the height of the InAs dots in the
“freely grown state” will inherently be larger than 40 angstroms.
(Compressed dots are inherently less thick than uncompressed dots.)
Each quantum dot in a GaAs layer is aligned with another dot in an
adjacent GaAs layer either above or below. Each of the GaAs layers is 40
angstroms thick, which is less that [sic, than] the Bohr-radius of 120
angstroms (specification, page 16, line 24). Claim 1 is thus anticipated by
Solomon et al. Alternatively, it would have been obvious...to make both
the InAs dots and the GaAs spacer layer of the Solomon structure of
substantially identical height, in order to increase the coupling between
InAs dots in adjacent layers as desired by Solomon et al. As noted
above, Xie et al. is relied upon generally for discussion of SK growth, and
more specifically for the micrograph of figure 2.
For their part, appellants contend that there is no teaching or suggestion in
Solomon that the intermediate layers have a thickness smaller than a height of the
quantum dots in a freely grown state, as claimed. Appellants urge that Solomon
“merely changes the thickness of the intermediate layer that is grown over the
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