Appeal 2007-1893
Application 10/946,753
admitted prior art. Shin discloses all of the claimed subject matter including
controlling length and orientation of nanostructures utilizing physical
contact with the topological structures. See P. 7-9, supra, of this opinion,
hereby incorporated by reference. Shin, however, does not explicitly state
that techniques other than physical contact with the topological structure
(e.g., force-field or fluid flow techniques) are used to influence the direction
of growth.
These techniques, however, are well known in the art. Zhang, for
example, uses an electric field to align growth of nanostructures along the
electric-field direction. See, e.g., Zhang, paragraph bridging pages 3155 and
3156, and first full paragraph of page 3156 (noting that nanotubes grown
using applied electric field are well aligned along the electric-field
direction); see also id., at p. 3155, ¶ 1 (“Electric fields have been used to
manipulate the growth direction of [multiwalled carbon nanotubes]
previously….”).
Furthermore, Appellants readily admit that such techniques are well
known in the art. See ¶ 0019 of Appellants’ Specification (contrasting
influencing nanotube growth with topological structures with “such known
techniques as application of electric fields (either external to or arranged
locally on the substrate), application of magnetic fields, blowing gas in a
certain direction, a directed ion stream, control of carbon gas density
gradient during growth”) (emphasis added); see also Br., at 10.
In view of either Zhang or Appellants’ admission in the Specification,
it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of
the invention to utilize such techniques in conjunction with the system of
Shin to provide additional control over the direction of nanostructure
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