Appeal 2006-3235
Reexamination Control No. 90/006,696
1 20. Fleuren’s “Summary” explains that the paper “describes a fast,
2 cheap and nondestructive method to locate currents in semiconductors by
3 visualizing very small temperature differences.” Fleuren at 148, 1st col.
4 21. Under the heading “Introduction,” Flueren explains that “[a]
5 common characteristic of a failing device is excess current and/or current on
6 [sic] the wrong time and/or place” and that nematic liquid crystals provide a
7 nondestructive, fast, cheap, simple, and very sensitive tool to locate these
8 currents. Id. Fleuren further explains that “[o]ften knowing the exact
9 location of the failure is sufficient. If not, additional analysis with e.g. a
10 SEM may be necessary.” Id.
11 22. Under the heading “Principle of Operation,” Fleuren explains that
12 his technique employs a polarizing microscope and that any portion of the
13 liquid crystal material heated above its anisotropic-isotropic transition or
14 clearing temperature will appear as a “black spot.” Id.
15 23. Although Flueren employs the term “black spot” but not “hot
16 spot,” the ‘857 patent is correct (at col. 1, ll. 24-25) to characterize Fleuren
17 as disclosing hot spot detection, because it would have been understood that
18 Fleuren’s “black spots” are generated as the result of “hot spots.”
19 24. Under the heading “Applicability,” Fleuren states that “[n]early
20 10 years of experience have proven this technique as very valuable in
21 (failure) analysis of semiconductor devices. Almost any kind of current
22 conducting phenomena may be detected and/or localized.” Fleuren at 148.
23 Fleuren further explains that “[e]xamples of defects visualized with this
24 technique are: parasitic and leakage currents, floating gates, isolation
25 defects, interconnect opens and shorts, leaky junctions, diffusion defects and
26 all kind of breakdown phenomena.” Id.
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