Intellectual Property Law

US Patent 7854991 - Aligned SWCNT array with high purity and surface area

Posted on December 22, 2010
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7854991.htmlThis patent from National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology teaches CVD growth methods for single walled carbon arrays resulting in high purity and surface area. Claim 1 reads:1. A single-walled carbon nanotube bulk structure comprising a plurality of aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes, wherein a specific surface area of the plurality of aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes is 800 m2/g or more and 2,500 m2/g or less, and purity measured by fluorescence X-rays of the plurality of aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes is 98% or more.

US Patent 7854826 - CNT transistor biosensor

Posted on December 22, 2010
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7854826.htmlThis patent from Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology teaches a carbon nanotube transistor biosensor capable of recognizing a specific protein by using DNA aptamers. Claim 1 reads:1. A carbon nanotube transistor biosensor using a single stranded DNA or single stranded RNA aptamer, comprising: (a) a carbon nanotube transistor comprising a source, a drain, and a gate, and a channel domain which consists of a carbon nanotube; (b) a single stranded DNA or single stranded RNA aptamer immobilized on the surface of said carbon nanotube for molecular recognition, and (c) a linker material to immobilize aptamers on the surface of a carbon nanotube; wherein said carbon nanotube transistor biosensor contains an electrical double layer...

US Patent 7851841 - Core/shell nanowire transistor

Posted on December 20, 2010
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7851841.htmlThis latest patent from Nanosys has relatively early priority (Sep. 30, 2002) and includes some basic claims to field effect transistors formed from core-shell nanowires. Claim 1 reads:1. A semiconductor device comprising: a substrate; a plurality of nanowires deposited or formed on the substrate, wherein said nanowires each comprise a core made of a first material and at least a first shell layer made of a second material disposed about said core, wherein said second material is made from a high dielectric constant material; and at least a first source contact and a first drain contact formed in or on the substrate providing electrical connectivity to the plurality of nanowires, wherein the nanowires each form an individual channel between said at least first source and drain contacts...

US Patent 7851790 - Isolated germanium nanowire on silicon fin

Posted on December 20, 2010
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7851790.htmlGermanium was the first material used for transistors but was quickly replaced with silicon which was found to produce better thermal stability and provide manufacturing advantages. As higher speed electronics are desired germanium may again become an option due to its higher mobility...

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US Patent 7851292 - CNT floating gate memory

Posted on December 20, 2010
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7851292.htmlThis patent from Micron Technologies teaches a way to form floating gate memory cells used in Flash memory with carbon nanotubes in the transistor channels to facilitate ballistic electron injection. Claim 1 reads:1...

US Patent 7850943 - White light nanocrystals

Posted on December 20, 2010
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7850943.htmlThis patent from Samsung teaches forms of semiconductor nanocrystals such as InZnP which emit at multiple wavelengths which can be useful to create white light LEDs. Claim 1 reads:1. A semiconductor nanocrystal, which is devoid of a cadmium sulfide nanocrystal, wherein semiconductor nanocrystal shows luminescence peaks at two or more wavelengths...

US Patent 7850940 - Carbonnitride nanotubes

Posted on December 20, 2010
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7850940.htmlThis patent from Korea Advance Institute of Science and Technology teaches a method for controllably manufacturing a form of nanotube based on carbon and nitrogen useful to sensors, batteries, and displays...

US Patent 7850798 - Flash welding of conducting polymer nanofibers

Posted on December 20, 2010
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7850798.htmlDue to their high surface area nanostructured materials often have heightened sensitivity to radiation and light. This patent from the Regents of the University of California takes advantage of this property by exposing the nanofibers to a light flash which melts individual nanowires and integrates the nanowires into a continuous film...

US Patent 7849424 - Computer aided design of nanowire transparent film

Posted on December 08, 2010
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7849424.htmlThis patent from Cambrios Technologies Corporation teaches CAD techniques used to optimize the electrical conductivity and transparency of nanowire thin films. Claim 1 reads:1. A method for controlling a process of fabricating a transparent conductor film having nanowires, the method comprising: receiving, by a processor, an input specification of a physical characteristic of the transparent conductor film; comparing, by the processor, the input specification to stored reference data correlating a physical characteristic of reference transparent conductor films to a physical characteristic of reference nanowires; generating a manufacturing specification that correlates a target physical characteristic of the nanowires to the input specification; and controlling a physical characteristic of the nanowires of the transparent conductor film based on the manufacturing specification...

US Patent 7847588 - Self-adjusting nanotube FPGA

Posted on December 08, 2010
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7847588.htmlNantero has been working on programmable logic structures made from carbon nanotube switches for several years. This latest patent teaches an adaptive nanotube logic which adjusts for time delays between remote areas of circuitry...

US Patent 7847325 - Discrete trap memory mediated by fullerenes

Posted on December 08, 2010
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7847325.htmlThere have been a variety of proposals over the past several years for using nanocrystals in the trap oxide of floating gate memory cells to enhance the scalability and reliability of Flash memory. This patent from Infineon Technology teaches a variation of this concept which instead uses fullerenes such as C60 to control the density and distribution of charge traps...

US Patent 7847285 - Configurable power segmentation using nanotubes

Posted on December 07, 2010
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7847285.htmlThis patent from LSI Corporation teaches smart power management of microprocessors using carbon nanotube switches. Claim 1 reads:1. A microelectronic assembly, comprising: a transistor layer of an integrated circuit above a semiconductor substrate, the transistor layer including a plurality of transistors; a power source to supply power to the plurality of transistors; and a nanotube structure patterned adjacent to the transistor layer, the nanotube structure to be bent to a conductive surface when a current is applied to the nanotube structure, the bent nanotube structure to couple the power source to the plurality of transistors to provide a power to the plurality of transistors, and be bent away from the conductive surface when the current is removed from the nanotube structure, the bent away nanotube structure to decouple the power source from the plurality of transistors to remove the power from the plurality of transistors, the nanotube structure to be bent away from the conductive surface based on a power utilization rate of the plurality of transistors meeting a threshold level...

US Patent 7847273 - CNT electron gun with alignment mechanism

Posted on December 07, 2010
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7847273.htmlElectron guns typically require a positively charged electrode to facilitate electron extraction but any misalignment between the electron source and extractor can cause focusing problems. This patent from ELORET Corporation teaches a carbon nanotube electron emitter which includes alignment features...

US Patent 7846807 - Manufacture of memristor material

Posted on December 07, 2010
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7846807.htmlIn 2008 researchers at HPLabs published a few papers linking resistance switching properties of nanometer thin film TiO2 to the concept of a memristor (i.e. memory resistor) originally described in the 1970's...

US Patent 7844347 - CNT-polymer medical electrodes

Posted on December 06, 2010
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7844347.htmlContacts between electrodes and biological tissue often include an unwanted impedance which make measurement or stimulation difficult. This patent from Medtronic teaches using an electrically conductive CNT polymer to reduce the contact resistance...

US Patent 7842535 - Silicon nanopillar lithium battery

Posted on December 06, 2010
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7842535.htmlThis patent to Nexeon Ltd. appears to be fundamental to nanostructured silicon anodes used in lithium batteries. Claim 1 reads:1. A method of fabricating an energy storage device comprising the steps of: forming an anode comprising an array of sub-micron silicon structures supported on a silicon substrate; forming a cathode comprising lithium; and arranging the anode and cathode in communication to form a battery...

US Patent 7842522 - CNT field emitter well

Posted on December 06, 2010
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7842522.htmlCarbon nanotube inks and pastes have been used to form electron emission structures for flat panel displays but it can be difficult to achieve uniformity of the nanotube distribution when depositing the ink...

US Patent 7842432 - Nanowire diffusion control barrier for fuel cells

Posted on December 05, 2010
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7842432.htmlThis patent from Nanosys teaches a fuel cell membrane formed from a mixture of semiconductor nanowires and graphene. Claim 2 reads:2. A fuel cell comprising a fuel source, a proton exchange membrane, an anode electrode, a cathode electrode and a diffusion-controlling barrier comprising an interconnected network of nanowires, wherein fuel concentration at the proton exchange membrane is less than about 30% of that of the fuel source.

US Patent 7842385 - Coated nanoparticle illuminator

Posted on December 05, 2010
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7842385.htmlThis patent from Samsung teaches selecting the refractive index of the coating of quantum dot nanoparticles in order to enhance the luminous efficiency of qdot LEDs and displays. Claim 1 reads:1. A matrix dispersed coated nanoparticle, comprising: a nanoparticle, which receives and emits light; a coating material formed on a surface of the nanoparticle, the coating material having an index of refraction which is less than an index of refraction of the nanoparticle; and a matrix disposed on the coating material, wherein the index of refraction of the coating material is greater than an index of refraction of the matrix...

US Patent 7842271 - Mass production of carbon nanostructures

Posted on November 30, 2010
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7842271.htmlThis patent is from a Russian inventor and claims a more energy efficient mass production method for carbon nanotubes and other fullerene nanostructures. Claim 1 reads:A method of preparing a composition comprising a nanostructured carbon, the method comprising: contacting a carbonaceous starting material with an activated acid catalyst to form an activated intermediate; and providing thermal energy to the activated intermediate to thereby forming a graphene; wherein the activated acid catalyst comprises an acidic solution previously subjected to an electromagnetic field, electromagnetic radiation, laser irradiation, or plasma activation...

US Patent 7842162 - Nanocoating for enhanced strength paper

Posted on November 30, 2010
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7842162.htmlThis patent is from Louisiana Tech University foundation and teaches ways of improving electrostatic self-assembly of polymeric films using nanoparticles resulting in enhanced strength paper. Claim 1 reads: A method for making paper with enhanced strength, comprising: (a) forming a pulp of lignocellulose fibers; (b) nanocoating said pulp of lignocellulose fibers by alternatively adsorbing onto the fibers multiple consecutively-applied layers of oppositely-charged nanoparticles and polymers, thereby making a modified pulp of multi-layer nanocoated lignocellulose fibers; (c) draining the modified pulp to form one or more sheets of multi-layer nanocoated lignocellulose fibers; (d) drying said formed one or more sheets of multi-layer nanocoated lignocellulose fibers; and (e) processing the dried nanocoated sheet or sheets to make a finished paper having enhanced strength and surface properties...

US Patent 7841714 - Retinal light therapy with nanocrystal glasses

Posted on November 30, 2010
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7841714.htmlRetinal light therapy has been used to treat sleep and psychiatric disorders. This patent from Quantum Modulation Scientific Inc. teaches a lightweight light therapy system built into eyewear which incorporate quantum dots...

US Patent 7838943 - Shared gate for hybrid nanoelectronics

Posted on November 29, 2010
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7838943.htmlCMOS device electronics requires the manufacture of both n-doped and p-doped transistors. However, it can be difficult to achieve both doping types using only carbon nanotubes and hybrid techniques using both conventional MOSFETs with nanotube MOSFETs may be preferable...

US Patent 7838933 - Printing of aligned nanowire transistors

Posted on November 29, 2010
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7838933.htmlThis patent teaches applying techniques of fluidic nanowire alignment to form high mobility transistors. Claim 1 reads:1. A structure for forming a transistor comprising: a dielectric substrate, the dielectric substrate having a first surface that includes a fluid accumulation region between an area for a source electrode and an area for a drain electrode, the fluid accumulation region being pre-patterned via changing surface energies or topologies; and, a droplet of fluid in the fluid accumulation region, the droplet including semiconductor nanowires suspended in a carrier fluid, the droplet elongated due to the pre-patterned fluid accumulation region such that upon evaporation of the carrier fluid, the nanowires are aligned to form the active region of the transistor between a source electrode and a drain electrode as the droplet reduces in size...

US Patent 7838865 - Method for aligning elongated nanostructures

Posted on November 29, 2010
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7838865.htmlLast week HP received a patent for self-aligning nanowires deposited via ink drops. This patent from Palo Alto Research is along similar lines using nanowire alignment via a patterned surface...

US Patent 7838422 - Al-doped nanodot FET

Posted on November 29, 2010
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7838422.htmlSilicon nanodots used to form charge trap layers in non-volatile memory have been found to produce unstable retention characteristics. This patent from Samsung teaches using aluminum doping to improve retention...

US Patent 7837968 - Carbon nanosphere

Posted on November 23, 2010
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7837968.htmlFullerenes, carbon nanotubes, and carbon nanohorns have all been suggested as electrode materials for fuel cell catalysts. This latest patent from Samsung teaches another variety of carbon nanostructure to increase the surface area for catalyst support...

US Patent 7837892 - Rubber compound containing nanoscale magnetic fillers

Posted on November 23, 2010
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7837892.htmlThis patent deals with a way to improve the thermal properties of rubber without sacrificing any of the mechanical properties by using nanoscale magnetic filler. Claim 1 reads:1. A rubber compound comprising at least one non-magnetic filler and at least one nanoscale, magnetic filler, which is in the form of aggregates of non-magnetic metal oxide matrices having nanoscale, magnetic metal oxide domains...

US Patent 7837116 - Credit card with quantum dot IR blocking material

Posted on November 23, 2010
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7837116.htmlThis patent from American Express is based on a series of continuations going back to 1999 and includes claims covering a transparent credit card having identification materials including quantum dots to provide proper sensing in an ATM as well as indicia for counting the cards on an assembly line during manufacture...

US Patent 7834530 - Nanotube bundle field emitters

Posted on November 22, 2010
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7834530.htmlCarbon nanotubes have been shown to produce superior electron emission at low electric field strength than other materials but when formed in high density arrays a field screening effect occurs that can diminish the emission density...

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