Appeal No. 2005-1031
Application No. 09/998,073
material from the surface. The laser beam is adjusted to strike the surface of the substrate, and at
the point of contact, the beam gives the appearance of a knife edge (Figures 2 and 2A). An input
fluid, e.g., an elemental gas or a mixture of elemental gases, is used to reduce or prevent the
ablation components of the foreign material from redepositing onto the substrate surface. The
input fluid may also absorb the laser energy to generate excited species that react with the
foreign material on the surface of the substrate. See col. 5, line 43-col. 6, line 5; col. 10, lines 9-
14; col. 12, lines 3-6.
It appears that the sole disagreement between the examiner and appellants is whether
Elliott describes the following limitation in claim 46:
[A] source of electromagnetic radiation adapted to converge a beam produced
thereby in said flow in close proximity to the surface of the workpiece, but spaced
a finite distance therefrom, to dissociate said gaseous constituent to produce a
high flux of activated reactive species that chemically treats said surface of said
workpiece.
We interpret claim 46 as requiring a system comprising a source of electromagnetic
radiation so structured that it can converge a beam in close proximity to the surface of the
workpiece, but spaced a finite distance therefrom. See In re Venezia, 530 F.2d 956, 959, 189
USPQ 149, 151-52 (CCPA 1976) (claim reciting "a pair of sleeves . . . each sleeve of said pair
adapted to be fitted over the insulating jacket of one of said cables" requires each sleeve to be so
structured or dimensioned that it can be fitted over the insulating jacket of a cable).
The examiner points out that in Elliott the laser beam is shown to converge at the
4
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007