Notice of Allowability
`
`Application No.
`13/964,938
`E/§grg[iq'1<;/TCCORMACK
`
`App|icant(s)
`SMITH, DONALD K.
`Qggfnit
`;‘i'{;,<§‘.;’;t,;""°"*°'*°
`No
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`-- The MAILING DA TE of this communication appears on the cover sheet with the correspondence address--
`All claims being allowable, PROSECUTION ON THE MERITS IS (OR REMAINS) CLOSED in this application.
`If not included
`herewith (or previously mailed), a Notice of Allowance (PTOL—85) or other appropriate communication will be mailed in due course. THIS
`NOTICE OF ALLOWABILITY IS NOT A GRANT OF PATENT RIGHTS. This application is subject to withdrawal from issue at the initiative
`of the Office or upon petition by the applicant. See 37 CFR 1.313 and MPEP 1308.
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`1. IXI This communication is responsive to 3/5/2015.
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`I: A declaration(s)/affidavit(s) under 37 CFR 1.130(b) was/were filed on
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`2. E] An election was made by the applicant in response to a restriction requirement set forth during the interview on
`requirement and election have been incorporated into this action.
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`3. IX The allowed cIaim(s) is/are 1-4 8 9 13-20 26-28 and 31-39. As a result of the allowed cIaim(s), you may be eligible to benefit from the
`Patent Prosecution Highway program at a participating intellectual property office for the corresponding application. For more
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`information, please see htt ‘://www.us to.‘ (N! atents/init eveniis/‘
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`h/ir:dex.'s or send an inquiry to PPHfeedbackc us ‘to. ov.
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`; the restriction
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`4. El Acknowledgment is made of a claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a)—(d) or (f).
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`Certified copies:
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`a) El All
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`b) E] Some
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`*c) E] None of the:
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`1. El Certified copies of the priority documents have been received.
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`2. El Certified copies of the priority documents have been received in Application No. j
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`3. El Copies of the certified copies of the priority documents have been received in this national stage application from the
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`International Bureau (PCT Rule 17.2(a)).
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`* Certified copies not received:
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`Applicant has THREE MONTHS FROM THE “MAILING DATE” of this communication to file a reply complying with the requirements
`noted below. Failure to timely comply will result in ABANDONMENT of this application.
`THIS THREE-MONTH PERIOD IS NOT EXTENDABLE.
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`5. El CORRECTED DRAWINGS ( as “replacement sheets”) must be submitted.
`
`I:I
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`including changes required by the attached Examiner’s Amendment / Comment or in the Office action of
`Paper No./Mail Date
`Identifying indicia such as the application number (see 37 CFR 1.84(c)) should be written on the drawings in the front (not the back) of
`each sheet. Replacement sheet(s) should be labeled as such in the header according to 37 CFR 1.121(d).
`
`6. El DEPOSIT OF and/or INFORMATION about the deposit of BIOLOGICAL MATERIAL must be submitted. Note the
`attached Examiner’s comment regarding REQUIREMENT FOR THE DEPOSIT OF BIOLOGICAL MATERIAL.
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`Attachment(s)
`1. IXI Notice of References Cited (PTO—892)
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`2. IXI Information Disclosure Statements (PTO/SB/08),
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`Paper No./Mail Date 2/11/2015 3/11/2015
`3. El Examiner’s Comment Regarding Requirement for Deposit
`of Biological Material
`4. El Interview Summary (PTO-413),
`Paper No./Mail Date
`
`/NICOLE IPPOLITO/
`
`Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2881
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`5. El Examiner’s Amendment/Comment
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`6. IX] Examiner’s Statement of Reasons for Allowance
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`7. El Other
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`.
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`U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
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`PTOL-37 (Rev. 08-13)
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`Notice of Allowability
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`Part of Paper No./Mail Date 20150309
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`ASML 1018
`ASML 1316
`ASML 1316
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`

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`Application/Control Number: 13/964,938
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`Page 2
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`Art Unit: 2881
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`1.
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`The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent
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`provisions.
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`DETAILED ACTION
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`Response to Arguments
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`2.
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`Applicant’s arguments see pages 7-8, filed 3/5/2015, with respect to the
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`amendments to claim 13, and the filing of the terminal disclaimer have been fully
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`considered and are persuasive. The rejections of claims 1-4, 8, 9, 13-20, 26-28, and
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`31 -39 have been withdrawn.
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`3.
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`Claims 1-4, 8, 9, 13-20, 26-28, and 31-39 are allowed.
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`Allowable Subject Matter
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`Regarding independent claims 1, 13, 26, and 32; Manning U.S. PGPUB No.
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`2006/0152128 discloses a lamp with “inner pressure to about 10 or 11 atm... The higher
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`gas pressure essentially contained the expansion of the plasma during operation,
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`confining the arc discharge” [0028] having “A sparker electrode 124 is positioned inside
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`the envelope for generating a preionization of the gas, in order to obtain a more uniform
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`discharge. The discharge across the arc gap can generate light that is reflected by a
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`mirror assembly 126 positioned relative to the arc gap and/or transmitted through the
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`light transmitting window 106” [0004]. The generated light has “a spectrum on the order
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`of about 190 nm to about 4000 nm” [0018]. However, Manning does not disclose at
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`least one substantially continuous laser for providing energy within a wavelength range
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`from about 700 nm to 2000 nm to the ionized gas to sustain a plasma within the
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`chamber to produce a plasma-generated light having wavelengths greater than 50 nm.
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`

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`Application/Control Number: 13/964,938
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`Page 3
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`Art Unit: 2881
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`Cross et al. U.S. Patent No. 4,780,608 discloses that “Recently, free—standing
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`continuous discharges have been produced by focusing the output of a sufficiently
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`powerful cw-CO2 laser into inert gases, molecular gases and mixtures thereof at
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`atmospheric pressures or above... Although cw-laser radiation can maintain the
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`continuous optical discharge, the output power of such light sources is generally
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`insufficient to initiate the discharge. Consequently, such plasmas can be initiated using
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`conventional electrode sparks or by the spark produced by a focused laser pulse
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`superimposed on the focal volume of the cw-laser beam used to maintain the plasma”
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`[col. 1; lines 30-52]. However, Cross is concerned with producing ions and does not
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`describe that light is produced by the plasma, Cross does not describe a transparent
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`region of the chamber allowing at least a portion of a plasma-generated light to exit the
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`chamber, as claimed in claim 1 (and does not explicitly describe the claimed pressure,
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`laser wavelength, or plasma-generated light wavelength values).
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`One of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention would not have
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`combined Manning and Cross since they belong to different fields of endeavor; namely,
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`Manning uses a plasma to generate light in a light source, while Cross uses a plasma to
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`generate ions. Further, if Manning and Cross were combined, the references still fail to
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`disclose at least one substantially continuous laser for providing energy within a
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`wavelength range from about 700 nm to 2000 nm to the ionized gas to sustain a plasma
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`within the chamber to produce a plasma-generated light having wavelengths greater
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`than 50 nm (Cross does not disclose the wavelength of the disclosed laser, and does
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`not disclose that the laser sustains the plasma for producing light, and therefore cannot
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`

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`Application/Control Number: 13/964,938
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`Page 4
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`Art Unit: 2881
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`disclose that light having wavelengths greater than 50 nm can be produced by a plasma
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`sustained by a laser).
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`The prior art fails to disclose at least one substantially continuous laser for
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`providing energy within a wavelength range from about 700 nm to 2000 nm to an
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`ionized gas to sustain a plasma within a chamber having greater than atmospheric
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`pressure to produce a plasma-generated light having wavelengths greater than 50 nm,
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`as claimed in independent claim 1, with similar limitations in independent claims 13, 26,
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`and 32.
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`Regarding dependent claims 2-4, 8, 9, 14-20, 27-28, and 31, 33-39; these claims
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`are allowable at least for their dependence, either directly or indirectly upon
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`independent claims 1, 13, 26, and 32.
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`Conclusion
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`Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the
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`examiner should be directed to JASON MCCORMACK whose telephone number is
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`(571)270-1489. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday - Thursday 7:00am
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`— 3:00pm.
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`If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s
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`supervisor, Robert Kim can be reached on (571)272-2293. The fax phone number for
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`the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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`

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`Application/Control Number: 13/964,938
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`Page 5
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`Art Unit: 2881
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`/JASON MCCORMACK/
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`Examiner, Art Unit 2881
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`/NICOLE |PPOL|TO/
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`Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2881