Intellectual Property Law

US Patent 7521492 - Flame retardant polymer formed using surface modified nanoparticles

Posted on April 26, 2009
US Patent 7521492This patent from 3M teaches a nanoparticle modified polymer providing flame retardant capabilities and which offers a more environmentally favorable alternative than some more conventional flame retardant additives. Claim 1 reads:1. A polymer composition comprising an organic polymer having dispersed therein a azido polymer surface-modified nanoparticle phase.

US Patent 7521394 - TiO nanofiber

Posted on April 26, 2009
US Patent 7521394Titanium oxide is useful to create white pigments, as a photocatalyst, or in photovoltaic energy conversion. Forming nanostructures for TiO can enhance the utility of the material by providing more reactive surface area. This patent from the University of Illinois teaches a method of making a new TiO nanostructure capable of producing larger quantities at lower cost...

US Patent 7521274 - GaN nanowire LED fabrication using pulsed growth

Posted on April 21, 2009
US Patent 7521274GaN is a semiconductor compound useful to the formation of LEDs for lighting and displays. Formation of GaN nanowires can enhance the density of electron states and improve the optical efficiency of LED or other optoelectronic devices however fabrication methods have been based on the vapor-liquid -solid method requiring catalytic material with limited control of uniformity and position of the nanowire growth...

US Patent 7521225 - Nanotube having a surfactant bilayer inner wall coating

Posted on April 21, 2009
US Patent 7521225Lipid bilayers are useful as encapsulants for drug delivery as well as for biosensing applications. This patent from North Carolina State University teaches a method of forming the bilayers on the inner surface of nanotubes offering greater stability and surface area for bilayer formation...

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US Patent 7520742 - Nanoimprint mold-releasing agent

Posted on April 21, 2009
US Patent 7520742Nanoimprint lithography provides a technique to mechanically pattern structures on the nanometer scale using surface contours of a mold structure. However, one difficulty is in the release of the mold from the material being patterned without deforming the structures being formed...

US Patent 7518780 - Nanolaminate deformable mirror

Posted on April 15, 2009
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7518780.htmlIn order to increase the precision of micromirror devices this patent from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory teaches using nanolaminate materials formed from alternating layers of copper and zirconium to achieve an ultra-flat surface...

US Patent 7517558 - Mask structure for CNT patterning

Posted on April 15, 2009
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7517558.htmlThis patent from Micron Technology teaches a deposition system for accurately placing carbon nanotubes in desired patterns and counting the number of nanotubes that are deposited. Claim 1 reads:1. A method of positioning carbon nanotubes, comprising:creating a dusty plasma comprising a plurality of carbon nanotubes;positioning a mask between said dusty plasma and a desired target for said carbon nanotubes, said mask having a plurality of openings extending therethrough;extinguishing said dusty plasma;the carbon nanotubes falling out of the extinguished plasma and toward said mask, the mask patterning the falling carbon nanotubes to form a pattern of the carbon nanotubes on said target;wherein said plurality of openings correspond to a plurality of funnels;wherein each of said funnels comprises an inlet and an outlet, with the outlet being narrower than the inlet along at least one cross-section; andusing parallel spaced-apart conductive plates to count nanotubes exiting the outlets of the funnels.

US Patent 7516610 - Nanoparticle propulsion

Posted on April 15, 2009
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7516610.htmlThis patent from the University of Michigan proposes a new type of propulsion system using charged nanoparticles as fuel. Claim 1 reads:1. A propulsion system, comprising:a grid;a gimbal supporting the grid; anda plurality of micron-size vias disposed in the grid, the grid establishing electrical fields to extract and accelerate a plurality of nano-particles providing propulsion system thrust.

US Patent 7515333 - Nanocomposite optical amplifier

Posted on April 10, 2009
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7515333.htmlThis patent from Nanosys teaches the use semiconductor nanorods to expand the range of optical amplification in telecommunications. Claim 1 reads:1. An optical device, comprising:an optical amplifier that comprises a nanocomposite material that includes:InAs or CdSe nanorod cores having one or more core-overcoating shell layers made of a semiconductor material selected from the group comprising ZnS, InP, CdSe, CdS, and ZnSe disposed thereon, wherein the core-shell nanorods emit light at from about 1200 nm to about 1700 nm; and have Auger scattering times greater than 5 ns.

US Patent 7514853 - Stress inverter MEMS resonator

Posted on April 10, 2009
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7514853.htmlThis is another patent from Silicon Clocks teaching a solution to thermal expansion mismatch in MEMS structures. Claim 1 reads:1. A MEMS structure, comprising:a stress inverter member coupled with a substrate; anda resonating member housed in said stress inverter member and suspended above said substrate.

US Patent 7514760 - IC compatible MEMS resonator

Posted on April 10, 2009
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7514760.htmlAlthough the fabrication of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) involves many of the same process steps as integrated circuit fabrication it is often difficult to integrate control circuitry with MEMS structures without excessive complication of the process...

US Patent 7514491 - Polymer/Inorganic clay nanocomposite fabrication

Posted on April 08, 2009
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7514491.htmlThis patent from ExxonMobile teaches the manufacture of a clay nanocomposite for enhancing the air barrier in tires. Claim 1 reads:1. A process to produce a nanocomposite comprising the steps of:(a) mixing an aqueous slurry of clay with a solution of polymer in an organic solvent to form an emulsion comprising a polymer-clay nanocomposite;(b) recovering the nanocomposite from the emulsion.

US Patent 7514214 - Functionalized CNT probe tip

Posted on April 08, 2009
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7514214.htmlThis patent from Caltech with priority going back to 2003 includes some basic claims to a carbon nanotube molecular sensor formed on an atomic force microscope tip. Claim 1 reads:1. A device comprising:a nanostructure having a surface and a passivation layer coating all but a unique site on the surface, the unique site exhibiting at least one of chemical, biological, electrical, and physical activity, wherein the nanostructure comprises a carbon nanotube, wherein a material is attached to the unique site, and wherein a moveable probe is connected to the nanostructure.

US Patent 7514116 - Horizontal carbon nanotubes by vertical growth and rolling

Posted on April 07, 2009
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7514116.htmlThe growth of vertical arrays of carbon nanotubes over a wide array is commonly practiced for applications such as field emission displays and has potential for mass production. However, other electronic structures such as interconnect wiring benefit from aligned arrays of nanotubes that are formed horizontal to the substrate which requires special alignment steps and is difficult to mass produce...

US Patent 7513437 - CNT security mark for gaming card

Posted on April 07, 2009
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7513437.htmlIn order to prevent cheating in casinos it is useful to mark card decks with a security mark that is transparent to the players but is easily verifiable. This patent teaches providing such security marks using a carbon nanotube coating to modify the resistance level of gaming cards...

US Patent 7511318 - Nanotube ribbon memory array

Posted on April 03, 2009
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7511318.htmlThis patent from Nantero has priority going back to 2001 and is basic to the use of nanotube fabric in electronic structures such as memory and logic arrays. Claim 1 reads:1. A structure, comprising:a substrate having a surface, the substrate comprising patterned regions of conductor and patterned regions of insulator below the surface of the substrate; anda nonwoven nanotube fabric of unaligned nanotubes disposed on the surface of the substrate, wherein the nonwoven nanotube fabric is parallel to the substrate.

US Patent 7511294 - Nanoparticle RRAM

Posted on April 03, 2009
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7511294.htmlBy using voltage pulses to alter the resistance states of certain materials a new form of non-volatile memory called RRAM has been under development over the past year and has recently been popularized by the memristor theory...

US Patent 7510982 - Porous low-k films formed using sacrificial nanoparticles

Posted on April 01, 2009
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7510982.htmlThe speed bottleneck in integrated circuit design usually comes from the interconnect lines which can generate capacitance that increases signal delays. To solve this problem there is an interest in low-k dielectrics which can be formed from porous oxides or polymers...

US Patent 7510802 - Bionanobattery

Posted on April 01, 2009
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7510802.htmlResearch into microscopic batteries has developed over the past few years to achieve power sources for microrobotic and implantable medical devices. This patent from NASA is based on a spin-coating technique which takes advantage of self-assembly of proteins to achieve a biological nanobattery...

US Patent 7510695 - Patterned nanotube growth

Posted on March 31, 2009
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7510695.htmlThis patent originating from Richard Smalley's group at Rice University has an early priority (1997) and teaches a basic method for patterning arrays of carbon nanotubes on a substrate. Claim 1 reads:1. A method for forming a macroscopic array of fullerene nanotubes, said method comprising the steps of:(a) providing an array of microwells on a substrate;(b) depositing a metal catalyst in at least some of said microwells; and(c) directing a stream of hydrocarbon or CO feedstock gas at said substrate under conditions that effect growth of fullerene nanotubes from the deposited catalyst.

US Patent 7510595 - Metal oxide nanoparticle composite with high gas permeability

Posted on March 31, 2009
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7510595.htmlA variety of polymers are useful for gas separation processes but often require a sacrifice in permeability to achieve higher selectivity in the gases being separated resulting in a bottleneck in chemical processing...

US Patent 7509961 - Nanofibril cigarettes

Posted on March 31, 2009
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7509961.htmlThis patent from Philip Morris teaches a way to manufacture cigarettes with less carbon monoxide in the smoke based on the use of nanofibrils for conversion of CO to CO2. Claim 1 reads:1. A method for forming nanostructured fibrils directly on a component of a cigarette comprising:supporting a target in a chamber having first and second electrodes;applying an electrical bias between the first and second electrodes to form electrical field lines between the electrodes;supporting the cigarette component on the first electrode, and bombarding the target with energetic ions to form nanoscale particles from the target material that agglomerate with each other along the direction of the electrical field lines to form nanostructured fibrils on the cigarette component.

US Patent 7507987 - Trench grown nanotubes

Posted on March 24, 2009
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7507987.htmlThis patent from M.I.T. teaches a method of forming "nanopellets" of carbon nanotubes disposed in blocks of dielectric materials formed in trenches in order to facilitate the handling of carbon nanotube materials of uniform length and spacing...

US Patent 7507958 - Ru coated CNT tip

Posted on March 24, 2009
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7507958.htmlCarbon nanotubes have been usefully employed as tips of atomic force microscopes due to their high aspect ratio. However, some applications require electrically conductive tips for the atomic force microscope in which the ohmic resistance of CNTs can be problematic...

US Patent 7507293 - Photonic crystal fabrication using sacrificial nanowires

Posted on March 24, 2009
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7507293.htmlPhotonic crystals are to optics what semiconductors are to electronics and offer a route to superlenses capable of resolutions beyond the diffraction limits of conventional lenses. This patent from HP labs teaches a methodology for fabricating photonic crystals using nanowires as a template that are later removed...

US Patent 7504628 - Nanoscale corona discharge electrode

Posted on March 20, 2009
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7504628.htmlCorona discharge is an electrical discharge effect used in applications such as air purification and laser printing. This patent teaches the use of conductive nanostructures to enhance the corona effect and increase the efficiency of ionization...

US Patent 7504383 - Metal encapsulating peptide nanotube

Posted on March 20, 2009
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7504383.htmlAlthough carbon nanotubes can be formed with metallic properties it is often desirable to fill them with other metallic or magnetic materials to improve electrical, thermal, or mechanical properties for nanotube fillers...

US Patent 7505102 - Carbon nanotrees

Posted on March 18, 2009
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7504152.htmlThis patent from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute teaches the fabrication of a new type of nanostructure based on carbon or a variety of other materials having a nanoscale tree shape. Claim 1 reads:1. A particle comprising a base having a shape of an inverted truncated right circular cone, wherein diameter of the inverted truncated right circular cone ranges from 1 nm to 100 microns, height of the inverted truncated right circular cone ranges from 5 nm to 1000 microns, and aspect ratio of the inverted truncated right circular cone ranges from 5 to 5000.

US Patent 7504078 - CNT alignment conveyor

Posted on March 18, 2009
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7504078.htmlThis patent from the University of Kentucky teaches a fabrication method of aligned films of carbon nanotubes on a substrate providing potential for mass production of CNT electronics. Claim 1 reads:1. An apparatus for continuous production of aligned carbon nanotubes, comprising:a reactor defining a hollow interior;a conveyor for continuously passing a substrate through the hollow interior of the reactor at a predetermined rate of travel; andan injector for delivering a hydrocarbon feed solution dispersed in an inert carrier gas into the hollow interior of the reactor;whereby aligned carbon nanotubes are formed on the substrate.

US Patent 7504051 - Purified nanotube applicator liquid

Posted on March 18, 2009
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7504051.htmlThis patent from Nantero teaches forming a purified nanotube solution suitable for spin coating processes used in the fabrication of integrated circuits. Claim 1 reads:1. An applicator liquid for use in an electronics manufacturing process, comprising:an electronics-grade solvent and a plurality of nanotubes, wherein the applicator liquid is free of polymers and is free of surfactant, wherein the nanotubes are at a concentration of greater than or equal to 10 mg/L, wherein the nanotubes are separated from one another and are distributed in the solvent without precipitation or flocculation and can remain separated for about at least one week;wherein the nanotubes are pretreated to reduce a level of metal impurities to less than about 1×1018 atoms/cm3, and wherein said applicator liquid is free of particulates having a diameter greater than about 500 nm.

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