Ex Parte Liu et al

Patent Trial and Appeal Board

Jun 8, 2016

13190643 (P.T.A.B. Jun. 8, 2016)

UNITED STA TES p A TENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
APPLICATION NO. FILING DATE FIRST NAMED INVENTOR
13/190,643 07/26/2011 HuiwenLiu
136310 7590 06/10/2016
Faegre Baker Daniels LLP
PA TENT DOCKETING - INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
2200 WELLS FARGO CENTER
90 SOUTH SEVENTH STREET
MINNEAPOLIS, MN 55402-3901
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
United States Patent and Trademark Office
Address: COMMISSIONER FOR PATENTS
P.O. Box 1450
Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450
www .uspto.gov
ATTORNEY DOCKET NO. CONFIRMATION NO.
STL16466.00 2562
EXAMINER
PURINTON, BROOKE J
ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER
2881
NOTIFICATION DATE DELIVERY MODE
06/10/2016 ELECTRONIC
Please find below and/or attached an Office communication concerning this application or proceeding.
The time period for reply, if any, is set in the attached communication.
Notice of the Office communication was sent electronically on above-indicated "Notification Date" to the
following e-mail address( es):
PatentDocketing@FaegreBD.com
PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07)
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
Ex parte HUIWEN LIU, PETER GUNDERSON, and
LIN ZHOU1
Appeal2014-007017
Application 13/190,643
Technology Center 2800
Before ALLEN R. MacDONALD, JON M. JURGOV AN, and
AMBER L. HAGY, Administrative Patent Judges.
HAGY, Administrative Patent Judge.
DECISION ON APPEAL
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Appellants appeal under 35 U.S.C. § 134(a) from the Examiner's
Final Rejection of claims 9-23, 27, and 28, which are all of the pending
claims.2 We have jurisdiction over these claims under 35 U.S.C. § 6(b).
We reverse.
1 Appellants identify Seagate Technology as the real party in interest. (App.
Br. 2.)
2 Claims 1-8 and 24-26 have been canceled. (Amendment Dated March 12,
2013; Amendment Dated Nov. 15, 2013.)
Appeal2014-007017
Application 13/190,643
According to Appellants:
Introduction
The present application relates to atomic force microscopy
(AFM). AFM may be used to measure and characterize surface
features of semiconductor devices, magnetic recording devices,
and microelectromechanical system (MEMS) devices, among
others.
AFM systems can use tube scanners to scan surfaces. Tube
scanners can include electrodes composed of piezoelectric
materials, which cause linearity and hysteresis errors. The
linearity and hysteresis errors can vary when applying different
voltages to the piezoelectric materials, thereby causing
inaccuracies in the measurement and characterization of surface
features.
(Spec. 1:15-22.)
Appellants describe their invention as follows:
In certain embodiments, a probe scans a surface to produce
a first scan. The first scan is used to estimate a vertical offset for
scanning the surface to produce a second scan. In certain
embodiments, an AFM device engages a probe to a surface using
a piezo voltage. The probe scans the surface to produce a first
scan. The first scan is used to estimate a vertical offset such that
the probe uses the piezo voltage to engage the surface for a
second scan at the same separation distance between AFM tip
and sample surface.
(Spec. 1 :25-30.)
2
Appeal2014-007017
Application 13/190,643
Exemplary Claims
Claims 16 and 23, reproduced below with the disputed limitations
italicized, are exemplary of the claimed subject matter:
16. An apparatus comprising:
an atomic force microscope (AFM) system including a tube
scanner having an electrode and a probe attached to the
electrode,
wherein the AFM system is configured to:
apply a first voltage to the electrode to vertically extend
the probe towards a surface of a workpiece;
scan the surface to produce a first scan;
offset the tube scanner a horizontal distance; and
based on the first scan and the horizontal distance, offset
the tube scanner a vertical distance so that the
probe can perform a second scan of the surface
while the first voltage is applied to the electrode.
23. .LAJ.. method comprising:
scanning a surface at a first location with a scanner including a
probe to produce a first scan containing surface tilt (