US Patent 7623746 - Nanoscale coaxial optical microscope

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7623746.html

Near-field scanning optical microscopes (NSOM) provide nanoscale metrology below the resolution limits of conventional optical micrscopes. This patent from Boston College teaches a variation of this microscope type which a carbon nanotube is used as an inner conductor probe tip. Claim 1 reads:

1. A nanoscale coaxial optical probe comprising:

a inner conductor having a top end, a bottom end, and a body;

a dielectric material engaging the inner conductor; and

an outer conductor engaging the dielectric material,

wherein the inner conductor is longer at a tip surface of the probe than the dielectric material and the outer conductor; and

wherein a diameter of the inner conductor and a diameter of the outer conductor are smaller than an optical signal wavelength.

US Patent 7623340 - Graphene nanocomposites as supercapacitor electrodes

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7623340.html

This patent from Nanotek Instruments teaches forming electrodes out of porous graphene platelets to achieve supercapacitors with potential use as energy sources for hybrid vehicles. The patent notes graphene as a cheaper alternative to carbon nanotube supercapacitor energy sources. Claim 19 read:

19. A supercapacitor, comprising:

(A) a first electrode, comprising nano-scaled graphene platelets and a plurality of pores accessible by a liquid electrolyte wherein said first electrode has a surface area greater than about 100 m2/gm;

(B) a second electrode, comprising nano-scaled graphene platelets and a plurality of pores accessible by said liquid electrolyte wherein said second electrode has a surface area greater than about 100 m2/gm; and

(C) an electrode separator disposed between the first and second electrodes, said separator comprising said liquid electrolyte which is electrically non-conductive and ionically conductive.

US Patent 7623284 - Nanotube photochromic layer

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7623284.html

This patent from LG Chem teaches using nanotubes in a photochromic layer to construct a paperlike electronic display. Claim 1 reads:

1. An electrochromic device comprising:

a first transparent electrode;

a photochromic layer comprising a nanotube conducting polymer in pores of a porous template;

an electrolyte; and

a second transparent electrode, wherein the porous template has pores having a diameter of 5 to 500 nm and a pore density of 10 to 50% by cross section.

US Patent 7622732 - Heterostructure nanotube rectifiers

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7622732.html

This patent from Atomate Corporation teaches a manufacturing method for electronic diode structures using carbon nanotubes. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method comprising:

providing a structure comprising a first plurality of pores;

processing to obtain in a first portion of each pore a single-walled carbon nanotube; and

processing to obtain in a second portion of each pore a nanowire, wherein the nanowire is coupled to the single-walled carbon nanotube of the pore.

US Patent 7622437 - Nanoparticle blood clot agent

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7622437.html

This patent from the University of Illinois teaches a phospholipid nanoparticle composition which enhances certain proteins ability to trigger blood coagulation. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method for controlling bleeding in a human or animal patient, said method comprising the step of administering, in an amount effective to control bleeding in said patient a composition comprising nanoscale particles comprising tissue factor or recombinant tissue factor, a membrane scaffold protein and phospholipid, wherein the phospholipid comprises a net-negatively charged phospholipid, and wherein said nanoscale particles are attached to a solid support, whereby bleeding in said patient is controlled.

US Patent 7622314 - Manufacture of CNT filament light bulb

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7622314.html

In the past few years their has been interest by researchers in China in carbon nanotube based filaments for enhancing the lifespans of light bulbs. This patent from Brother International teaches a method to facilitate manufacturing of CNT filament light bulbs. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method of making a carbon nanotube structure, the method comprising:

forming a plurality of substantially aligned carbon nanotubes on a substrate;

contacting the carbon nanotubes on the substrate with a polymer;

forming a solid composition from the carbon nanotubes and the polymer on the substrate;

removing at least a portion of the solid composition from the substrate;

shaping the removed portion of the solid composition into a filament while substantially retaining alignment of the carbon nanotubes within the solid composition;

removing at least a portion of the polymer after shaping the solid composition into the filament, wherein the filament retains its shape;

coupling opposite ends of the filament to electrically conductive leads, and disposing the filament in a sealed envelope to form a light bulb.

US Patent 7622129 - Nanostructured polymer medical implants

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7622129.html

In order to treat more extreme cases of bladder cancer it can become necessary to remove a portion of the bladder wall and replace it with a medical implant. This patent from the Purdue Research Foundation teaches such an implant formed via a molding process which produces a nanostructured surface roughness capable of mimicing soft tissue. Claim 1 reads:

1. A nano-structured synthetic implant comprising a polymeric material, said polymeric material displaying nano-sized surface features and a surface roughness of 50 nm or greater, wherein said surface features comprise a dimension having a size within the range of 25 nm to less than 100 nm.

US Patent 7621997 - Multishell nanocrystal fabrication

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7621997.html

This patent from Samsung teaches the manufacture of heterostructure nanocrystals capable of higher wavelength luminescence at enhanced efficiency. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method for forming a multi-shell nanocrystal structure, comprising:

(a) forming a core nanocrystal; and

(b) simultaneously reacting at least two precursors having different reaction rates to sequentially form at least two shell layers of nanocrystals having different compositions on a surface of the core nanocrystal.

US Patent 7619810 - MEMS array testing

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7619810.html

This patent from IDC LLC (now part of Qualcomm) has very early priority (1994) and includes very basic claims to array-based testing of micromechanical devices. Claim 23 reads:

23. A system comprising:

an array of nodes organized into rows and columns, each node having a micro-electromechanical (MEM) device, a first switch coupling a column line to the MEM device and a second switch coupling a voltage to the MEM device; and,

a testing mechanism situated outside of the array of nodes to test each node for proper operation by selecting a row and a column of the nodes in which the node is located to turn on the first and the second switches of the node.

US Patent 7619806 - LCD-MEMS display

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7619806.html

Pixtronix is a company commercializing low-power, high speed displays based on MEMS light modulators. This appears to be one of their basic patents on integrating MEMS with more conventional LCDs. Claim 1 reads:

1. A display apparatus comprising:

an array of MEMS-based light modulators;

a liquid in which the array of MEMS-based light modulators is at least partially immersed; and

a transparent substrate on which the array of MEMS-based light modulators are formed,

wherein the liquid has a first index of refraction, the transparent substrate has a second index of refraction, and the first index of refraction substantially matches the second index of refraction.

US Patent 7619290 - Semiconductor nanowire analyte sensor

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7619290.html

This patent is from Charles Lieber's group at Harvard University and has relatively early priority (2000) to semiconductor nanowire chemical sensors. Claim 1 reads:

1. An article comprising:

a semiconductor nanowire and a catalyst material deposited on the semiconductor nanowire which is capable of catalyzing a reaction with an analyte which comes into contact with the nanowire.

US Patent 7619257 - Epitaxially grown graphene FETs

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7619257.html

This patent from Alcatel-Lucent provides a step toward manufacturing graphene transistors which may provide higher current and lower noise to future field effect transistors. Claim 1 reads:

1. A device comprising:

a body including a single crystal, electrically insulative first region on a major surface of said body, said first region having a hexagonal crystal lattice substantially lattice-matched to graphene,

at least one epitaxial layer of graphene disposed on said first region of said body, and

a multi-layered, single crystal, electrically insulative second region disposed on said at least one graphene layer, said second region having a hexagonal crystal lattice within each layer thereof and being substantially lattice-matched to graphene.

US Patent 7618771 - Stretched nucleic acid nanowire

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7618771.html

This patent from Searete LLC (associated with Intellectual Ventures) proposes a methodology using fluid flow to stretch out a nucleic acid molecule which is suggested for the construction of nanoscale circuitry. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method of forming a nanowire, comprising:

applying a nucleic acid-containing solution to a first substrate, the first substrate having a defined structural feature thereon;

controllably flowing the nucleic acid-containing solution over the first substrate in a manner that promotes stretching of a nucleic acid molecule from the defined structural feature along the first substrate;

applying a conductive material to the stretched nucleic acid molecule to form a nanowire; and
controlling a surface charge of the first substrate, wherein the surface charge acts to attract the nucleic acid molecule to the first substrate.

US Patent 7618647 - Buckypaper medical implant

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7618647.html

"Buckypaper" is used to refer to an entangled mat of carbon nanotubes. This patent from Boston Scientific Scimed includes some basic claims to using buckypaper as a biocompatible and high-strength coating for medical implants such as stents. Claim 1 reads:

1. A medical implant system comprising:

a medical implant having an exterior surface; and

a first layer of bucky paper covering at least a portion of the exterior surface.

US Patent 7618579 - Electro-blown spinning of nanowires

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7618579.html

This patent from du Pont teaches an electrospinning method for generating webs of polymeric nanowires which avoids the necessity of heating used in earlier methods. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method for preparing nanofiber webs comprising:

feeding a polymer solution comprising between 15 to 25 wt % polymer to a spinning nozzle;

compressively discharging the polymer solution through the spinning nozzle at a discharge rate between about 0.1 to 5 cc/min·hole, which is charged with a high voltage, while injecting compressed air through an air nozzle positioned adjacent the lower end of the spinning nozzle to form nanofibers; and

collecting the nanofibers on a grounded collector under the spinning nozzle in the form of a nanofiber web.

US Patent 7618250 - Nanoimprint lithography optical alignment

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7618250.html

This patent from ASML Netherlands B.V. teaches diffraction gratings used to align nanoimprint
lithography and enable multilayer patterning. Claim 1 reads:

1. An imprint lithography apparatus comprising:

a template holder configured to hold an imprint template, a substrate table, and an optical encoder, the optical encoder having a radiation output, a first diffraction grating, and a detector, the radiation output arranged to illuminate a second diffraction grating and the detector positioned to detect radiation diffracted by the first and second diffraction gratings to provide an alignment signal.

US Patent 7618216 - CNT wire earthquake proofing

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7618216.html

Carbon nanotubes have been proposed for many years to strengthen materials. This patent proposes a system of using webs of carbon nanotube wires in housing materials to protect from earthquake damage. Claim 1 reads:

1. An apparatus to reduce damages to structures due to earth movement comprising:

a central slab;

a plurality of neighboring slabs adjacent to the central slab, each slab being spaced apart from each of the other slabs; and

at least one carbon nanotube wire embedded in each slab, wherein the at least one carbon nanotube wire embedded in the central slab is connected to the at least one carbon nanotube wire embedded in a neighboring slab, wherein there is a structure on the central slab, and there is another structure on at least one other slab, and wherein the apparatus is configured to reduce damages to the structure due to earth movement.

US Patent 7616367 - Carbon fiber MEMS

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7616367.html

In order to produce higher deflections and higher switching speeds for MEMS optical devices this patent from Cornell Research Foundation teaches using graphene or carbon nanotube fibers as the bending portion of the MEMS device. Claim 1 reads:

1. A micro-electro-mechanical device scanner comprising:

a substrate;

a fiber supported by the substrate at a clamped end of the fiber; and

a mirror supported by a second, free end of the fiber.

US Patent 7615800 - Quantum dot light emitting layer with nanoparticle conductive paths

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7615800.html

This patent from Eastman Kodak teaches integrating two types of nanomaterials - 1) luminescent quantum dots and 2) electrically conductive nanopartilces in order to produce an inorganic LED film with enhanced brightness. Claim 1 reads:

1. An inorganic light emitting layer comprising:

(a) a plurality of light emitting cores, each core having a semiconductor material that emits light in response to recombination of holes and electrons, each such light emitting core defining a first bandgap;

(b) a semiconductor shell formed completely around each light emitting core to form core/shell quantum dots, each such semiconductor shell having a second bandgap wider than the first bandgap; and

(c) a semiconductor matrix including separate inorganic nanoparticles made of Type IV, III-V, or II-VI semiconductor material connected to the semiconductor shells to provide a conductive path through the semiconductor matrix and to each such semiconductor shell and its corresponding light emitting core so as to permit the recombination of holes and electrons, the inorganic nanoparticles having a different composition from that of the core/shell quantum dots.

US Patent 7615788 - SiC MEMS

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7615788.html

This patent from Cornell Research Foundation teaches monolithically integrated MEMS capable of withstanding a harsher environment than conventional silicon MEMS by using silicon carbide material. Claim 1 reads:

1. A device formed on a silicon carbide substrate, the device comprising:

silicon carbide based monolithic integrated signal conditioning or system control circuitry supported by the substrate; and

a silicon carbide containing microelectromechanical structure supported by the silicon carbide substrate.

US Patent 7615776 - Self-assembled nanowire circuitry

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7615776.html

This patent from IBM teaches the fabrication of logic circuits which uses fewer masking steps by including self-assembly of vertical nanowires to form channels of the circuitry. Claim 1 reads:

1. A circuit comprising:

a first metal layer on a substrate;

an insulating layer on said first metal layer;

a second metal layer on said insulating layer;

a self-assembled first semi-conductivity type material on one side of said first metal layer; a self-assembled second semi-conductivity type material on the other side of said first metal layer; and

a self-assembled nanowire extending between a field concentrator on said first metal layer and one of said first semi-conductivity type material and said second semi-conductivity type material to form said self-assembled connection.

US Patent 7615476 - Nanoparticle paste soldering

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7615476.html

This patent from Intel teaches the use of nanoparticles to reduce thermal stress in soldering processes. Claim 1 reads:

1. A process comprising:

forming a nano-particle solder paste on a substrate;

contacting the nano-particle solder paste with a wire interconnect; and

reflowing the nano-particle solder paste to form a solder bump in a wire interconnect article.

US Patent 7615446 - Nanocrystal charge trap flash memory

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7615446.html

A variety of new non-volatile memory devices have been under development for the past several years including MRAM, phase change RAM, and RRAM. While some advantages are offered by these devices the cost required to establish a new type of non-volatile memory may be prohibitive. This patent from Samsung instead focuses on using nanocrystals to extend the operability of the existing flash memory designs. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method of fabricating a charge trap flash memory device, the method comprising:

forming a tunneling dielectric layer on a semiconductor substrate;

forming an organic polymer thin film on the tunneling dielectric layer, the organic polymer thin film comprising embedded metal or metal oxide nano-crystals for trapping charges;

forming a gate layer on the organic polymer thin film; and

patterning the gate layer, the organic polymer thin film and the tunneling dielectric layer, and forming source and drain regions in the semiconductor substrate.

US Patent 7615402 - Electrically operated tunneling transistor

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7615402.html

This patent from Acorn Technologies teaches a new type of nanoscale transistor design which appears to be a modification of a single electron transistor with reduced tunnel junction resistance. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method, comprising forming a conduction path between a pair of tunnel junctions each having a resistance less than or equal to approximately a quantum resistance by shifting energy states of an island formed of a material having a non-uniform density of energy states characterized by separated conduction and valence bands that behave as continuous energy bands, the island being disposed between the tunnel junctions.

US Patent 7615204 - Super long carbon nanotube strands

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7615204.html

This patent is based on a collaboration between Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Tsinghua University and teaches a CVD fabrication method capable of producing long carbon nanotubes which may make the development of some speculative projects such as the space elevator more attainable. Claim 1 reads:

1. A continuous carbon nanotube strand having a length of at least 10 cm when it is directly synthesized.

US Patent 7615111 - Silver nanoparticle inkjet ink

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7615111.html

Inkjet printing tools have been experimented with over the past few years as a mechanism to print nanoparticle based patterns for fabricating devices such as RFID tags or electronic displays. This patent from HP has priority to 2007 and includes some basic claims toward silver nanoparticle inkjet ink. Claim 1 reads:

1. A metallic inkjet ink, comprising:

a silver metallic pigment, a water-based dispersion of silver nanoparticles, or combinations thereof;

an other colorant selected from a pigment, a dye, and combinations thereof; and

at least one ink vehicle.


One piece of prior art which may be relevant to the claims is the article "Inkjet printing of nanosized silver colloids" published in the journal Nanotechnology in 2005.

Xyggy Patent Search Tool

http://www.xyggy.com/

I came across the above website recently which does a fairly decent job of performing quick searching for similar patent information based on a given patent number or title. The search algorithm used seems to be a little more involved than simply text-based from my test searches. While the search interface does not allow field selection (i.e. assignee, date range, etc.), it does a pretty good job if all you are looking for is a simple tool to identify a listing of similar patents.

US Patent 7613538 - Distortion compensation for nanoimprint lithography

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7613538.html

This patent from HP teaches a quality control method for nanoimprint lithography based on choosing the mold design so as to minimize anticipated distortions. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method of contact lithography comprising:

predicting distortions likely to occur in transferring a pattern from a mold to a substrate during a contact lithography process; and

modifying said mold to compensate for said distortions.

US Patent 7612971 - MEMS switching for HVAC

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7612971.html

This patent from General Electric teaches a MEMS alternative to conventional switching and fuses used in heating, ventilation, and air condition systems. The MEMS switching is taught to produce less waste heat, less leakage current, and provide a more compact, lightweight system. Claim 1 reads:

1. A HVAC system, comprising:

a load motor;

a main breaker micro electromechanical system (MEMS) switch;

a voltage snubber circuit electrically coupled to the main breaker MEMS switch; and

a variable frequency drive (VFD) disposed between and electrically coupled to the load motor and the main breaker MEMS switch.

US Patent 7612883 - Dynamic plasmonics platform

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7612883.html

Plasmonics involves the study of electron oscillations and is important to Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) used in molecular analysis. In order to increase the sensitivity of SERS it is desirable to have a mechanism to tune the frequencies produced due to light scattering. This patent from General Electric teaches a MEMS or NEMS mechanism to provide such tuning. Claim 1 reads:

1. A plasmonics platform, comprising:

a substrate;

a plurality of periodically spaced nanoholes and/or nanoparticles disposed upon the substrate, wherein an average first order of periodicity between the nanoholes and/or the nanoparticles is about 5 to about 1,000 nanometers; and

a microelectromechanical and/or a nanoelectromechanical system in operative communication with the substrate for varying the average first order of periodicity between the nanoholes and/or the nanoparticles.

US Patent 7612635 - MEMS resonator with 2 I/O ports

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7612635.html

This patent is from Kolo Technologies and includes some basic claims to a new type of micromachined ultrasonic transducer including multiple bidirectional input/output ports. Claim 1 reads:

1. A MEMS acoustic filter comprising:

a MEMS resonator; and

at least two acoustic I/O ports.

US Patent 7612358 - Nanochannel mem-resistor

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7612358.html

Last year researchers at Hewlett Packard made headlines by announcing the development of a nanoscale realization of the memristor which was theoretically predicted in the 1970's and which may form a basic element for a new type of non-volatile memory called RRAM and a new type of A.I. based on physical neural networks. This patent is from Samsung and teaches an alternative nanoscale memory resistor device based on the transport of ions or nanoparticles in nanochannels. Claim 1 reads:

1. A memory device comprising:

a first electrode;

a second electrode; and

a memory layer disposed between the first and second electrodes, wherein the memory layer includes a mesoporous material and nanochannels, the nanochannels being comprised of metal nanoparticles or metal ions, and the memory layer showing bistable resistance values; and

a barrier layer disposed between the memory layer and the second electrode to control the concentration and distribution of the metal nanoparticles or metal ions in the nanochannels, wherein the barrier layer is formed on top of the nanochannels of the memory device, the barrier layer being configured such that the metal nanoparticles or metal ions can be fed into the nanochannels through the barrier layer.

US Patent 7612270 - CNT CMOS inverter

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7612270.html

CMOS is currently the dominant architecture in digital and analog microelectronics due to low power dissipation and ease of use in logic design and fabrication. This patent from IBM attempts to extend the CMOS concept to carbon nanotube electronics forming a basic inverter CMOS circuit. Claim 1 reads:

1. A digital inverter comprising:

a first carbon nanotube (CNT) extending from a substrate, and functioning as a first source (S1) for the digital inverter;

a second carbon nanotube (CNT) extending from the substrate, and functioning as a second source (S2) for the digital inverter;

a third carbon nanotube (CNT) extending from the substrate, and functioning as an input (G) of the digital inverter; and

a conductive structure disposed on the third CNT, and functioning as an output (D) of the digital inverter when either the first CNT or the second CNT are in contact with the conductive structure disposed on the third CNT.

US Patent 7612138 - Carbon nano-onion EMI shielding

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7612138.html

One of the earliest proposed applications of fullerene (and later carbon nanotube) composites was in the formation of lightweight electromagnetic shielding. This patent from the International Technology Center teaches another variety of nanocomposite EMI shielding based on onion-like carbon particles. Claim 1 reads:

1. An electromagnetic radiation attenuating material for attenuation of electromagnetic radiation in at least a portion of the frequency range of approximately 500MHz to 30 THz, comprising:

a binding matrix; and

an operative quantity of electromagnetic radiation attenuating nano-particles suspended in the binding matrix, wherein, the electromagnetic radiation attenuating nano-particles comprise onion-like-carbon (OLC) particles.

US Patent 7611687 - Microwave welding of single walled carbon nanotubes

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7611687.html

This patent from Honda Motors teaches a large scale synthesis method for interconnected webs of single walled carbon nanotubes. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method for producing interconnected single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs), the method comprising:

placing a sample of SWNTs in a microwave cavity wherein the electric field is maximum; and

exposing the sample to microwave field at a maximum temperature between about 1000° C. and about 1400° C. to produce the interconnected single-walled carbon nanotubes.

US Patent 7611628 - Aligned nanotubule membrane

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7611628.html

This patent form the University of Kentucky teaches a fabrication method for a molecular sieve having a uniform pore diameter with functionalization at the pore openings. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method for producing a permeable membrane, comprising the steps of:

aligning a plurality of hollow nanotubules to form a mat;

coating the mat with a continuous polymer matrix to form a membrane; and

etching the membrane to remove a layer of polymer from a surface of the membrane to (a) open the plurality of hollow nanotubules whereby the nanotubules define pores passing through the membrane, and (b) oxidize an end of the nanotubules to form carboxylate groups.

US Patent 7611562 - Triangular nanoframes

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7611562.html

This patent comes from Chad Mirkin's group at Northwestern University. The patent teaches methodology used to fabricate a new type of nanostructure called a "nanoframe" which is useful to investigating how nanoscale shapes effect the bulk physical and chemical properties of substances. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method of forming a triangular nanoframe comprising etching a nanoprism with a salt to form a nanotriangle.

US Patent 7610797 - Inductive CNT force sensor

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7610797.html

This patent from Xidex Corporation teaches a force sensing system for a scanning probe microscope that uses a carbon nanotube to improve sensitivity to vibrations in multiple directions. Claim 1 reads:

1. A device, comprising:

a support structure;

at least one carbon nanotube extending from the support structure; and

a detection system comprising an inductive pick-up coil and a tank circuit;

wherein the detection system is operable to detect vibrations from the at least one carbon nanotube.

US Patent 7609432 - Nanowire cantilever

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7609432.html

Cantilever structures are very common to microsensor and microactuator structures used in MEMS. This patent from HP includes some basic claims to using nanowires to form nanoelectromechanical cantilevers. Claim 1 reads:

1. A nanoelectromechanical (NEM) device comprising:

a support block extending vertically from a horizontal surface of a substrate, the support block having a vertical side;

a nanowire extending laterally from the vertical side of the support block, the nanowire being spaced from the horizontal surface of the substrate; and

a component that influences the nanowire.

Although not cited in this patent, a similar nanocantilever based on a carbon nanotube was earlier described in published patent application US2005/0230710.

US Patent 7609086 - Mem-resistor transfer function circuitry

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7609086.html

Adaptive control circuitry is important for electrical control systems which are required to respond to unpredictable changes in the environment or changes in the system requirements. However, when conventional processors are used to perform adaptive control the processor speed can limit responsiveness of the system to changing conditions. Memory resistors have been proposed as a nanoscale circuit element which offers an alternative to conventional processor based adaptive control by integrating memory storage with signal flow control. This patent teaches mem-resistor junctions integrated into a crossbar circuit architecture to provide a new type of parallel processing adaptive control. Claim 1 reads:

1. A control circuit including:

a crossbar array having input columns and output rows configured to store first stored data in the form of high or low resistance states,

wherein the input columns are connected to a common electrical input having an input voltage signal and the output rows are connected to a common summing circuit configured to sum signals from the rows to produce an output voltage signal,

wherein the control circuit is configured to produce a transfer function based on the ratio of the output voltage signal to the input voltage signal which is determined by the resistance states of the crossbar array.

US Patent 7608905 - Interdigitated nanowire antenna array

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7608905.html

This patent from HP teaches a nanostructured dipole antenna formed from interdigitated metallic nanowires. Claim 1 reads:

1. An apparatus comprising:

a first set of nanowires; and

a second set of nanowires interdigitated with the first set of nanowires, wherein the first set of nanowires and the second set of nanowires are formed of electrically conductive material, and wherein the first set of nanowires is independently electrically addressable and electrically isolated from the second set of nanowires.

US Patent 7608902 - Nanowire composite resonant sensor

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7608902.html

This patent from Samsung teaches a fabrication method for resonant sensors based on metallic nanowires formed in a cylindrical template. Claim 1 reads:

1. A nanowire composite comprising:

a template having a first surface, a second surface opposite to and parallel to the first surface, and a third surface extending from the first surface to the second surface;

a plurality of hollow channels disposed in the template and extending therein from the first surface and the second surface;

nanowires disposed in the plurality of hollow channels; and

a functional element comprising a portion of one or more of the nanowires exposed through an etched portion of the third surface of the template, wherein the functional element does not directly touch the first surface or the second surface of the template.

US Patent 7608854 - Branched nanowire with diffusion doping

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7608854.html

This patent from Hewlett Packard teaches a method to grow pn junction nanowire structures useful for the fabrication of bipolar and field effect transistors. Claim 1 reads:

1. An electronic device, comprising:

a primary nanowire of a first conductivity type;

a secondary nanowire of a second conductivity type grown from and extending outwardly in one direction from the primary nanowire; and

a doped region of the second conductivity type diffused from and extending from the secondary nanowire into at least a portion of the primary nanowire.

US Patent 7608852 - Strained nanowire light emitter

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7608852.html

Strained silicon is used to increase the switching speed of semiconductor devices. This patent from Samsung teaches that using strained silicon nanowires can also improve ohmic contacts and enhance light emission efficiency for laser diodes and LEDs. Claim 1 reads:

1. A luminous device, comprising:

a light emitting layer; and

a first electrode and a second electrode each connected to the light emitting layer,

wherein the light emitting layer is a strained nanowire and the strained nanowire has a lattice constant that increases in a lengthwise direction thereof compared to a non-strained nanowire.