Appeal No. 1999-2834
Application No. 08/483,731
6. One or both of the foregoing techniques would
be applicable to forming a silicon membrane X-ray
emitter array of the type claimed. Attached is an
article describing one use of such a technique,
Miniature Electron Microscope Without Vacuum Pumps,
dated August 1998. Incidentally, the electron
microscope described in this article produces
significant X-ray emission from a specimen.
Replacement of the electron-transparent isolation
membrane in the figure with an X-ray target metal layer
would result in an X-ray emitter of similar
construction as that described in the application.
7. The Office Action takes the position that a
silicon membrane particle-beam shutter array or
aperture array of the type claimed would have unique
power requirements (high voltage and/or current) beyond
the level of ordinary skill in the relevant art at the
time the application was filed. Again, I respectfully
disagree. In general, electrostatic or magnetic
deflection of charged particle beams does not require
excessive voltages, currents or power. In particular,
as the elements in the shutter array are miniaturized
to the micrometer size range, electrostatic deflection
voltage requirements are similarly reduced.
When the “suitable proofs” presented by appellant and
declarant are weighed against the examiner’s enablement concerns,
we must give more weight to the credible showing made by
appellant. Based upon the showing made by the appellant, the
state of the art as represented by the submitted patents and the
noted article, and the lack of any evidence in the record to
buttress the examiner’s concerns, we are of the opinion that the
skilled artisan would be able to successfully replicate the
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