Appeal No. 2006-0264
Application No. 10/217,064
teach analyzing the concentration of a lead inhibitor and
adjusting its concentration during the process. Significantly,
however, van der Putten specifically teaches the following:
An embodiment of the method according to the
invention is characterized in that the concentration of
the stabilizer is 0.1-1.5 mg per liter. Higher
concentrations lead to a complete discontinuation of
the metallization process. Lower concentrations lead
to isotropic growth of the bond pads and, hence, to
lateral overgrowth of the coating layer.
Column 2, third full paragraph. Accordingly, van der Putten
provides a clear teaching of the importance of maintaining the
lead concentration in a narrow concentration range. Hence, we
have no doubt that it would have been obvious for one of ordinary
skill in the art to monitor, or analyze, the lead concentration
of the plating bath throughout the process and adjust it
accordingly to keep the concentration within the disclosed range.
In our view, the disclosure of Araki is hardly necessary for
arriving at the legal conclusion that the claimed analyzing and
adjusting of the lead concentration would have been obvious over
the disclosure of van der Putten. However, Araki provides
additional evidence for the obviousness conclusion. Araki
explicitly teaches the continuous measurement and adjusting of
the consumable components of an electroless plating bath that
includes, inter alia, lead as a stabilizer. Araki, at column 9,
-5-
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