Ex parte NAKAO et al.

Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences

Mar 20, 1998

08190211 (B.P.A.I. Mar. 20, 1998)

Application for patent filed February 1, 1994. According to appellants,1
the application is a continuation of Application 07/861,193, filed March 31,
1992. (ABN)
1
THIS OPINION WAS NOT WRITTEN FOR PUBLICATION
The opinion in support of the decision being entered today (1) was not written
for publication in a law journal and (2) is not binding precedent of the Board.
Paper No. 9
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
_____________
BEFORE THE BOARD OF PATENT APPEALS
AND INTERFERENCES
_____________
Ex parte MASAO NAKAO, HIROAKI FURUKAWA,
RYOHKAN YUASA and SHUJI FUJIWARA
_____________
Appeal No. 96-1701
Application 08/190,2111
______________
ON BRIEF
_______________
Before KIMLIN, JOHN D. SMITH and GARRIS, Administrative Patent
Judges.
JOHN D. SMITH, Administrative Patent Judge.
DECISION ON APPEAL
This is an appeal pursuant to 35 USC § 134 from the final
rejection of claims 1, 3, 5 through 8, 14, and 15. Claims 9, 10,
and 12 stand withdrawn from further consideration as directed to
a non-elected invention. Claims 2, 4, 11, and 13 have been
cancelled.
Appeal No. 96-1701
Application 08/190,211
2
Appealed claim 1 is representative and is reproduced below:
1. A method of forming a Josephson junction device
comprising the steps of:
forming a non-superconducting oxide film of Bi-Sr-
Cu-O compound by sequentially depositing at least Bi, Sr and Cu
on a magnesia substrate in a pattern;
and forming a superconducting oxide film of Bi-Sr-
Ca-Cu-O compound by sequentially depositing at least Bi, Sr, Ca
and Cu over the exposed part of said magnesia substrate and said
non-superconducting oxide film to form a tilt-boundary junction
between said superconducting oxide film on said magnesia
substrate and said superconducting oxide film on said non-
superconducting oxide film.
The references of record relied upon by the examiner are:
Char et al. (Char) 5,157,466 Oct. 20, 1992
Vasquez et al. (Vasquez), Appl. Phys. Lett., ?Nonaqueous chemical
depth profiling of Yba Cu O ?, Vol. 54, No. 11, pages 1060-10622 3 7-x
(1989).
Mizuno et al. (Mizuno), Appl. Phys. Lett., ?Fabrication of thin-
film-type Josephson junctions using a Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O/Bi-Sr-Cu-O/
Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O structure?, Vol. 56, No. 11, pages 1469-1471
(1990).
Tsukamoto et al. (Tsukamoto), Japanese Journal of Applied
Physics, ?Low-Temperature Annealing Effect on Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O Thin
Films Prepared by Layer-by-Layer Deposition?, Vol. 30, No. 5A,
pages L830-L833 (1991).
Tsukada et al. (Tsukada), Supercond. Sci. Technol., ?In-situ of
Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O films by shutter-controlled molecular beam
epitaxy?, 4, pages 118-120 (1991).
Appeal No. 96-1701
Application 08/190,211
3
Claims 1, 3, 5, 6, 14, and 15 stand rejected under 35 USC
§ 103 over Char in view of Mizuno, Tsukamoto, and Tsukada.
Claims 7 and 8 stand similarly rejected under the same section of
the statute further in view of Vasquez.
We reverse.
The subject matter on appeal is directed to a specific and
limited method for forming a Josephson junction device having a
tilt-boundary junction between a superconducting oxide film of a
Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O compound (referred to as BSCCO) on a magnesia
substrate and the same film (BSCCO) on a non-superconducting
oxide film of Bi-Sr-Cu-O (referred to as BSCO) deposited in a
pattern on the magnesia substrate. Each of the films must be
sequentially deposited. Thus, for the BSCO film, bismuth,
strontium, and copper are sequentially deposited in that order.
For the BSCCO film, bismuth, strontium, calcium, and copper are
sequentially deposited in that respective order.
We have carefully reviewed the prior art references relied
upon by the examiner and the examiner’s stated rejections based
on these references. Although the examiner’s position is not
without merit, we agree with appellants that the relied upon
prior art disclosures are insufficient to establish a prima facie
case of obviousness for the claimed subject matter. Hence we
Appeal No. 96-1701
Application 08/190,211
4
reverse the examiner’s rejections.
The examiner contends (Answer, page 5) that from the broad
disclosures discussing Char’s Figure 3 embodiment, one of
ordinary skill in this art would have recognized that a tilt-
boundary junction could be formed by depositing BSCO on a
bicrystal structure composed of BSCO/MgO when using BSCO as a
seed layer. However, there is no teaching in the relied upon
prior art references of a patterned BSCO film formed on a
magnesia substrate, much less the recognition that such a
structure would form a bicrystal as required by Char’s Figure 3
embodiment. Moreover, Char’s only exemplified embodiment
involves the formation of a junction by growing a seed layer of
YBa Cu O (referred to as YBCO) under one set of growth conditions2 3 7
followed by growing another layer of YBCO under different growth
conditions to achieve two different crystal orientations. Thus
Char uses the same film material, i.e., YBCO, to form both films
on a substrate, while appellants use a BSCO/BSCCO film
combination.
In light of the above, it is apparent that adequate factual
support for the examiner’s obviousness conclusion is not of
Appeal No. 96-1701
Application 08/190,211
5
record. Thus the examiner’s rejections of the appealed claims
are reversed.
REMAND
At page 2 of the Brief, appellants indicate that Application
08/036,148 is related to the present application and that an
appeal (Appeal No. 96-1673) has been taken therein. In light of
the closely related subject matter claimed in application
08/036,148, this application is remanded to the examiner to
determine whether or not a rejection of the herein claimed
subject matter should be made on the grounds of provisional
obviousness-type double patenting. A copy of our decision in
Appeal No. 96-1673 issued concurrently, is attached.
REVERSED and REMANDED
)
EDWARD C. KIMLIN )
Administrative Patent Judge )
)
)
Appeal No. 96-1701
Application 08/190,211
6
) BOARD OF PATENT
JOHN D. SMITH )
Administrative Patent Judge ) APPEALS AND
)
) INTERFERENCES
)
BRADLEY R. GARRIS )
Administrative Patent Judge )
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