US Patent 7744816 - Multilayer nanopore sensor

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7744816.html

A variety of designs have been proposed and implemented which use nanopores for molecular analysis. This latest design from Intel uses multiple sensor layers to detect multiple electrical properties of analytes. Claim 1 reads:

1. An apparatus comprising:

a) at least one sub-device, each sub-device comprising a first chamber and a second chamber, said first and second chambers separated by sensor layers comprising a semiconductor material and having one or more nanopores therein, the first and second chambers of each sub-device in fluid communication through said one or more nanopores, wherein said nanopores are between 1 and 999 nm in diameter; and

b) one or more detectors comprising said sensor layers and configured to detect one or more analytes in the nanopores passing from said first chamber to said second chamber.

US Patent 7744793 - Growing nanotube forrests

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7744793.html

This patent teaches a method of bulk carbon nanotube production which reduces impurities and grows a nanotube forest. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method for producing a nanotube film, the method comprising:

supplying a carbon-bearing precursor gas and using the carbon-bearing precursor gas for growing a first nanotube forest on a first substrate positioned within a reaction chamber having an access port, wherein the reaction chamber is positioned in a furnace; and

pulling a first length of nanotube film from the first nanotube forest on the first substrate through the access port while the nanotube forest is in the reaction chamber.

US Patent 7744440 - CNT growth with inactivation layer

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7744440.html

Carbon nanotube arrays are commonly grown from catalytic metal layers using a CVD method in order to form wide area electronic devices such as flat panel displays. This method from Samsung teaches using fullerene material as an inactivation layer to mask portions of the catalytic metal and control the areas where nanotubes are grown. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method of growing carbon nanotubes, comprising:

preparing a substrate;

forming a catalyst metal layer on the substrate, an activity of the catalyst layer promoting growing of carbon nanotubes;

forming an inactivation layer on the catalyst metal layer to reduce the activity of the catalyst metal layer, the inactivation layer including a plurality of inactivation lumps, each of the inactivation lumps being separated with a predetermined gap from another of the inactivation lumps;

growing carbon nanotubes from a surface of the catalyst metal layer.

US Patent 7743835 - Nanoparticle-enhanced shape-conforming materials

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7743835.html

This patent from Baker Hughes Inc. deals with shape memory compositions used to fill annular spaces or seals and which use nanostructured particles to assist in heating the composition. Claim 1 reads:

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a composition that contains:

a shape-conforming material having a shape memory property; and

nanoparticles in an amount sufficient to heat the shape-conforming material to near or above a glass transition temperature of the shape-conforming material when the nanoparticles are exposed to a selected form of energy,

wherein the composition obtains a selected shape when compressed at near or above the glass transition temperature of the shape-conforming material.

US Patent 7742322 - Fused nanocrystal films

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7742322.html

InVisage is a company implementing high-resolution and high-performance imaging devices with a small form factor by using quantum dot films. This appears to be a basic Qdot patent covering their technology. Claim 1 reads:

1. A film comprising a network of fused nanocrystals, the nanocrystals having a core and an outer surface, wherein the core of at least a portion of the fused nanocrystals is in direct physical contact and electrical communication with the core of at least one adjacent fused nanocrystal, and wherein the film has substantially no defect states in the regions where the cores of the nanocrystals are fused.

US Patent 7741933 - Electromagnetic composite metamaterial

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7741933.html

This patent from Charles Stark Draper Labs teaches a system to implement a metamaterial based on an array of MEMS piezoelectric resonators. Claim 1 reads:

1. An electromagnetic composite metamaterial comprising:

an electromagnetic medium; and

a plurality of spaced electromechanical resonators disposed in or on the electromagnetic medium configured to control electromagnetic wave propagation properties in the electromagnetic composite metamaterial.

US Patent 7741765 - CNT field emitter with support wire

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7741765.html

Chemical vapor deposition is a common technique used to manufacture electron emitting devices based on carbon nanotubes. One deficiency in this method is that electrically induced mechanical stress can weaken the connection between the nanotubes and a cathode on which the nanotubes are grown. This patent from Hon Hai Precision teaches an alternative arrangement based on carbon nanotube yarn twisted around a cathode wire. Claim 1 reads:

1. A field emission element comprising:

at least one supporting wire; and

at least one carbon nanotube wire, the at least one carbon nanotube wire and the at least one supporting wire are twisted together,

a conductive cathode electrode, wherein the supporting wire is electrically fixed on the conductive cathode electrode and comprised of a material different from that of the at least one carbon nanotube wire.

US Patent 7741647 - Random nanowire array bridge

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7741647.html

Much of the early research in silicon nanowires has emerged from Charles Lieber's group at Harvard and Nanosys which has begun turning the basic research into commercial reality. However, HPLabs has also contributed to some basic nanowire research. This latest patent teaches a lateral growth method for nanowire arrays to form structures useful for solar cells. Claim 1 reads:

1. An apparatus comprising:

a substrate comprising a non-single crystal surface that enables crystalline nanowire growth and wherein said substrate is electrically conductive;

a plurality of crystalline nanowires crystallographically attached to said non-single crystal surface of said substrate, wherein said plurality of crystalline nanowires are randomly oriented on said non-single crystal surface; and

an electrode coupled to at least one crystalline nanowire of said plurality of crystalline nanowires, wherein said plurality of crystalline nanowires are electrically conductive or optically active.

US Patent 7741638 - Memristive control layer

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7741638.html

This appears to be one of HP's patents related to their "memristor" version of RRAM in which a control layer such as TiO2-x is included as a source or sink of oxygen vacancies to control the resistance level. Claim 1 reads:

1. A control layer for use in a junction of a nanoscale electronic switching device, the control layer comprising a material that

1) is chemically compatible with a connecting layer and at least one electrode in the nanoscale switching device and

2) is a source of a material for the connecting layer or a sink for a material from the connecting layer,

the control layer configured to control at least one of electrochemical reaction paths, electrophysical reaction paths, and combinations thereof during operation of the device.

However, at least one prior art patent may have been overlooked during the examination (see US Patent 7148533, column 4, lines 9-34 which teaches using nanoscale thin film oxygen-rich and oxygen deficient layers for resistance switch memory.)

US Patent 7741232 - Electron emitting nanofabric

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7741232.html

In order to form large area electronic displays from plastic or flexible material new manufacturing techniques will need to be developed. This patent from Ideal Star Inc. teaches using woven fabrics as an alternative to planar deposition manufacturing for developing wide area field emission material for displays. Claim 1 reads:

1. An electron-emitting woven fabric comprising:

first linear bodies having a conductive layer covered with an insulating layer; and

second linear bodies formed of a conductive material and crossing the first linear bodies to form cross parts, wherein the conductive layer comprises a conductive polymer,

a carbonaceous material is provided on a surface of the second linear bodies of the cross parts, the carbonaceous material is one or more selected from a group consisting of carbon nanotubes and fullerenes, and electrons are emitted from the cross parts of the first linear bodies and the second linear bodies.

US Patent 7741197 - Reduced contamination deposition of nanowires

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7741197.html

In order to enable silicon nanowires electronics it is necessary to provide integration techniques resulting in devices with uniform and reproducible characteristics. This latest patent from Nanosys teaches one method of nanowire deposition designed to improve the device consistency for mass production. Claim 1 reads:

1. A process for depositing nanowires onto a substrate surface which comprises at least one pair of electrodes, comprising:

(a) placing at least a portion of the substrate surface into contact with a fluid suspension of nanowires;

(b) moving the fluid suspension and/or the substrate surface relative to one another; and

(c) applying an electric field between the at least one pair of electrodes to electrostatically deposit one or more of the nanowires on the substrate surface and align the one or more nanowires between the pair of electrodes so that each said electrostatically deposited one or more nanowires spans the pair of electrodes.

US Patent 7740997 - Photoreceptor including polymeric material embedded in CNTs

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7740997.html

In order to improve the lifetime and image quality for photosensitive drums used in laser printers this patent from Xerox teaches polymer on carbon nanotube material as an enhanced charge storage medium. Claim 1 reads:

1. An electrophotographic imaging member comprising:

a substrate,

a photogenerating layer, and

an optional overcoating layer

wherein the photogenerating layer comprises a multi-block polymeric charge transport material at least partially attached to a surface of a carbon nanotube material, and

the multi-block polymeric charge transport material comprises a charge transport block and a non-charge transport block, wherein the charge transport block is attached to the surface of the carbon nanotube material.

US Patent 7740825 - Formation of CNT aggregate

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7740825.html

Most material applications of carbon nanotube include adding the nanotubes to a composite polymer or metal matrix which can enhance the electrical or thermal properties of the matrix but do not provide the maximum benefit of the CNT properties. This patent from Stella Chemifa Corp. teaches a way to form pure nanotube aggregates using fluorine. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method for forming a carbon nanotube aggregate, comprising

(1) modifying multiple carbon nanotubes with fluorine, and

(2) sintering the multiple carbon nanotubes modified with fluorine.

US Patent 7738280 - Nanoparticle thin film mem-resistor

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7738280.html

This patent from Panasonic teaches a new variation of memory resistor based on nanoparticles on an oxide thin film layer. Claim 1 reads:

1. A resistive nonvolatile memory element comprising:

a first electrode;

an oxide semiconductor layer which is formed on the first electrode and the resistance of which is altered depending on the applied voltage;

metal nanoparticles having a diameter of between 2 nm and 10 nm and being arranged on the oxide semiconductor layer;

a tunnel barrier layer formed on the oxide semiconductor layer and the metal nanoparticles; and

a second electrode formed on the tunnel barrier layer, said metal nanoparticles being in contact with the oxide semiconductor layer.

US Patent 7737432 - Coupled quantum dot computer

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7737432.html

This patent from the National Research Council of Canada teaches a variation of qubits used in quantum computing which provide the advantage of a long coherence time and voltage control of the qubit state. Claim 1 reads:

1. A computing element for a quantum computer comprising at least three coupled quantum dots that can adopt more than one collective state, and at least a first gate means for applying an electric field to manipulate the collective state of said coupled quantum dots, wherein said quantum dots are arranged in a triangular formation.

US Patent 7736893 - Nanobio devices of imitative anatomy structure

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7736893.html

This patent from SII Nanotechnology teaches an interesting method to culture artificial internal organs using optical trapping to manipulate individual cells. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method of producing a nanobio device of imitative anatomy structure, comprising the steps of:

manufacturing a substrate for a nanobio device by focused ion beam processing, the substrate having an array of chambers with walls formed as partitions that separate the chambers; and
arranging individual cells, from among a plurality of types of cultured cells, in individual chambers using optical tweezers to permit interaction among the cells to produce a nanobio device of imitative anatomy structure.

US patent 7736741 - SWCNT Schottky junction

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7736741.html

It is well known that single walled carbon nanotubes can be formed with either metallic or semiconductor characteristics based on the chirality of the nanotube. This patent from Sony Corp. teaches how to form a nanotube that integrates both the metallic and the semiconducting portions in a single nanotube which can provide basic rectifier functions on a molecular level and may simplify integration with electrode contacts. Claim 3 reads:

3. A method of manufacturing a single-wall carbon nanotube heterojunction comprising joining a semiconductive single-wall carbon nanotube and a metallic single-wall carbon nanotube via a growth defect with each other in a longitudinal direction thereof, wherein the defect introduced during growth of the single-wall carbon nanotube introduces a five-membered ring or a seven-membered ring into a six-membered ring structure of a graphene sheet thereby to induce a chirality change.

US Patent 7736724 - Fabrication of nanobaskets

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7736724.html

This patent from the University of Tulsa teaches a method of forming a new type of nanostructure having potential uses in photovoltaics and electrode structures for batteries. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method of producing a nanobasket, said method comprising:

providing a substrate having at least one pore having a diameter of from about 1 nm to about 10 micrometers; and

depositing at least one material along a continuous edge of said pore to form a capped or partially capped nanotube or microtube structure over said pore.

US Patent 7736553 - Nanoparticle desublimation via electrostatic charging

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7736553.html

This patent from BASF AG teaches using electrostatic charging of nanoparticles during fabrication in order to prevent the agglomeration of the nanoparticles which makes uniform distribution in a composite difficult. Claim 1 reads:

1. A process for producing nanoparticles, comprising the following steps:

i) bringing a base substance into the gas phase,

ii) generating particles by cooling or reacting the gaseous base substance, and

iii) applying electrical charge to the particles during particle generation in step ii) in a nanoparticle generation apparatus.

US Patent 7736468 - Nanoparticle coating for textile and paper processing equipment

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7736468.html

This patent from Albany International Corp. teaches enhancing the life expectancy of the process belts and rollers used in paper processing by using nanoparticle coatings. Claim 1 reads:

1. A papermaking process belt, textile belt or roll cover, comprising

a urethane-based coating comprising nanoparticles, wherein at least one of the following characteristics is improved: resistance to crack propagation, resistance to groove closure, or wear characteristics.

US Patent 7736209 - Nanoparticle screen printing

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7736209.html

Screen printing is a common technique used in printing on textile objects such as T-shirts or printing on materials such as metals and wood which are incompatible with other printing methods. More recently screen printing has been used to pattern electronic structures. This patent from Applied Nanotech teaches one way of applying screen printing for patterning nanoparticles used in creating CNT field emitters. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method for forming a field emission cathode device comprising the step of depositing a surface layer of nanoparticles-material on a substrate such that said surface layer of nanoparticles-material forms a plurality of field emitting islands that are physically isolated from each other, wherein the nanoparticle-material is deposited using a 355-mesh screen having a mesh opening of about 25-30 microns wide.

US Patent 7736131 - Turbine blade with CNT shell

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7736131.html

In order to increase the life expectancy of gas turbine engines this patent teaches using carbon nanotubes to improve the temperature stability of turbine blades. Claim 1 reads:

1. A turbine blade for use in a gas turbine engine, the turbine blade comprising:

an attachment portion;

a spar extending outward from the attachment portion;

a shell secured to the attachment portion; and,

the shell being formed from nanotubes extending substantially in the spanwise direction of the blade.

US Patent 7735147 - Tapered CNT scanning probe tip

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7735147.html

A variety of designs have been developed in the past several years for carbon nanotube tipped atomic force microscopes which can provide higher resolution scanning in the nanoscale. This patent teaches a variation in which a conical carbon shape is grown to form a more stable tip. Claim 1 reads:

1. A mechanically stable carbon nanotube, having a scanning probe tip comprising an oriented carbon nanotube having a carbon-island-defined base with a gradually decreasing diameter, with a sharp point at the probe tip.

US Patent 7732918 - Vapor chamber heat sink with CNT fluid interface

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7732918.html

This patent from Nanoconduction takes advantage of the high surface area of carbon nanotube arrays to improve the efficiency of vapor cooling chambers. Claim 1 reads:

1. A thermal transposer, comprising:

a substrate;

a plurality of carbon nanotubes individually grown on a first surface of said substrate in an orientation that is substantially parallel to a desired heat transfer axis of said thermal transposer;

an encapsulating structure attached to said substrate together forming a sealed vapor chamber, wherein said carbon nanotubes are located inside of said sealed vapor chamber; and,

a vapor fluid contained within said vapor chamber.

US Patent 7732859 - CMOS compatible graphene FET

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7732859.html

Although the discovery of carbon nanotubes is often credited to Sumio Iijima of NEC, the first examples of single walled carbon nanotubes and nanotube transistors were developed by researchers from IBM. This patent from IBM continues their tradition in advancing the state of the art in carbon-based electronics by teaching how to manufacture field effect transistors based on graphene. Claim 1 reads:

1. A field effect transistor comprising:

a silicon carbide fin located directly on a silicon carbide substrate;

a pair of graphene layers located on a pair of sidewalls of said silicon carbide fin;

doped source and drain regions located between said pair of graphene layers and within said silicon carbide fin, said doped source and drain regions comprising a doped silicon carbide material;

a channel comprising a channel portion of said pair of graphene layers and contacting said doped source and drain regions; a gate dielectric directly contacting said channel portion within said pair of graphene layers; and

a gate electrode directly contacting said gate dielectric.

US Patent 7732853 - Multibit nanocrystal FET

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7732853.html

Non-volatile memory such as floating gate transistors (Flash memory) have relied on scaling of transistor dimensions to increase storage density. An alternative to scaling is the use of multibit memory in which two or more bits of data are stored using a single memory cell transistor. This patent from Samsung teaches one variation of multibit memory using nanocrystals. Claim 1 reads:

1. A multi-bit nonvolatile memory cell comprising:

a substrate;

spaced apart source and drain regions in the substrate;

a trench in the substrate between the spaced apart source and drain regions;

a plurality of charge trapping nano-crystals on the substrate between the spaced apart source and drain regions;

a gate on the substrate that includes a protrusion portion that extends into the trench, wherein the protrusion portion is closer to the source region than to the drain region; and

a layer between the nano-crystals and the substrate, that is thicker on the substrate outside the trench than in the trench.

US Patent 7732805 - CNT image sensor

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7732805.html

This patent from Dongbu Hitek Co. is based on the finding that carbon nanotubes can increase the quantum efficiency of photodiodes. Claim 1 reads:

1. An image sensor comprising:

a substrate including transistor circuitry;

a lower interconnection on the substrate connected to the transistor circuitry a first conductive-type conductive layer on the lower interconnection;

an intrinsic layer on the first conductive-type conductive layer;

carbon nanotubes on the intrinsic layer; and

a conductive polymer layer coated on the carbon nanotubes, wherein the carbon nanotubes are doped with a second conductive-type material.

US Patent 7732316 - Controlled fabrication of vertical CNTFETs

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7732316.html

This patent is from Hynix Semiconductor and teaches a fabrication process for carbon nanotube transistors which may increase reliability during mass production. Claim 1 reads:

1. A manufacturing method of a semiconductor device, the method comprising:

forming a layer comprising a plurality of hemispherical single crystal silicon elements over a semiconductor substrate;

forming one or more carbon nano tubes between adjacent hemispherical single crystal silicon elements;

forming a gate insulating layer over the hemispherical single crystal silicon elements, the semiconductor substrate, and the carbon nano tubes; and forming a gate material layer over the gate insulating layer.

US Patent 7731930 - Double walled CNT assembly

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7731930.html

Double-walled carbon nanotubes are the simplest form of conductive multiwalled nanotubes having optimum characteristics for field emission used in displays and biological or chemical sensors. This patent from Nikon includes some basic claims to CVD grown nanotubes containing a high percentage of double walled nanotubes. Claim 1 reads:

1. A carbon nanotube assembly directly grown on a substrate, wherein a proportion of double-walled carbon nanotubes to carbon nanotubes contained in the assembly is 70% or more.

US Patent 7731928 - Silanized CNTs

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7731928.html

Qimonda AG is a semiconductor memory company which, while recently undergoing bankruptcy issues, has developed several innovative solutions for semiconductor device development. For example, this latest patent teaches a process to form a dielectric coating on nanotubes useful to the fabrication of CNT sensors and transistors. Claim 1 reads:

1. A process for silanizing carbon nanotubes, wherein the carbon nanotubes are oxidized and subsequently exposed to a saturated gas phase comprising one or more organosilane derivatives which form covalent bonds to the carbon nanotubes with siloxane formation.

US Patent 7731503 - CNT contact structure

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7731503.html

FormFactor Inc. is a company which produces probe card equipment used in testing semiconductor equipment. This patent teaches using carbon nanotubes as the probe contact which may provide higher resolution testing. Claim 1 reads:

1. A contact structure comprising:

an interconnection element having a first portion that is constructed and arranged for mounting on a substrate and making an electrical connection thereto; and

a contact element attached to the interconnection element and configured to contact a pad on a semiconductor device, wherein the contact element comprises:

an electrically conductive base attached to the interconnection element, and

a plurality of carbon nanotubes coupled to and extending away from a surface of the base.

US Patent 7730547 - Nanotube strain sensor

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7730547.html

This patent is from William Marsh Rice University and includes some basic claims to sensing strain with carbon nanotubes. Claim 1 reads:

1. A device for measuring mechanical conditions, wherein the device comprises:

a sensing element comprising a plurality of carbon nanotubes; and

an electrical probe in contact with the plurality of carbon nanotubes;

wherein the electrical probe is sensitive to an electrical property of the carbon nanotubes in a measureable way.

US Patent 7728830 - Inverse GPS control of nanoparticle circuits

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7728830.html

This patent teaches a new way of addressing nanoscale structures by using 3 wavefronts which are selectively delayed to intersect at a selected position. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method for addressing a plurality of nano-scaled structured elements embedded in an m-dimensional medium capable of wave-like propagation of signals, each of said plurality of nano-scaled, structured elements being reactive to a local state of the m-dimensional medium, said method comprising steps of:

a) sending, via a broadcast through said m-dimensional medium in a wave-like propagation from n+1 spatially localized transmitters, a plurality of control signals to the plurality of nano-scaled, structured elements arranged in an n-dimensional array within the m-dimensional medium, where a timing of initiation of said plurality of control signals is varied and each of said plurality of control signals reaches all of said plurality of nano-scaled, structured elements in said n-dimensional array; and

b) addressing at least one of the plurality of nano-scaled, structured elements, when said plurality of control signals propagating through said m-dimensional medium arrives at a common time at a location of said at least one of the plurality of nano-scaled, structured elements.

US Patent 7728626 - Nanolaminate transistor logic array

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7728626.html

This patent from Micron teaches a transistor architecture using nanolaminate charge trapping structures for higher density programmable logic. Claim 1 reads:

1. A programmable logic array, comprising:

a plurality of input lines for receiving an input signal;

a plurality of output lines; and

one or more arrays having a first logic plane and a second logic plane connected between the input lines and the output lines, wherein the first logic plane and the second logic plane comprise a plurality of logic cells arranged in rows and columns for providing a sum-of-products term on the output lines responsive to a received input signal,

wherein each logic cell includes a transistor cell including:

a first source/drain region;

a second source/drain region;

a channel region between the first and the second source/drain regions, and

a gate separated from the channel region by a gate insulator; and

wherein the gate insulator includes oxide insulator nanolaminate layers wherein at least one charge trapping layer in the oxide insulator nanolaminate layers is substantially amorphous.

US Patent 7728332 - Nanotube array ballistic LED

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7728333.html

Ballistic transport is a property of single walled carbon nanotubes which results in low electrical resistance due to lack of electron scattering. So far this property has been suggested mostly for transistor designs. However, this patent from Nano-Electronic and Photonic Devices and Circuits, LLC teaches an LED construction using the ballistic electron transport of nanotubes. Claim 1 reads:

1. The nanotube array ballistic light emitting diode, comprised of the following components:

dielectric substrate;

first layer of metal with high optical reflectivity deposited on said substrate;

array of small pads of metal having low resistive contact to the nanotube and deposited on said first layer of metal;

array of carbon nanotubes grown normally to the substrate plane on said array of small pads of metal having low resistive contact to the nanotubes;

dielectric film covering the nanotubes, said dielectric film being thinner than the height of the nanotubes, so that after deposition of said dielectric film the ends of said carbon nanotubes protrude beyond said dielectric film;

second, optically transparent conductive electrode deposited on the exposed nanotube tips, said nanotube tips becoming exposed after preliminary polishing the surface of said dielectric film and thus removing protruded nanotube ends.

US Patent 7728284 - Polarized optical nanotweezers

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7728284.html

Two of the primary techniques used to manipulate individual nanoparticles are atomic force microscopy and optical tweezers. This patent from Japan Science and Technology Agency teaches a method of using optical tweezers on groups of quantum dots. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method of manipulating nanosize objects, said method comprising:

illuminating nanosize objects with light resonant with an electronic excitation level of the nanosize objects to induce force being exerted on the nanosize objects from the resonant light for manipulation of the nanosize objects, wherein:

the resonant light illuminates a collection of nanosize objects;

the resonant light is changed in polarization to control mechanical interaction of the nanosize objects; and

the resonant light is changed in polarization so as to excite resonance energy of closely positioned nanosize objects to a level below resonance energy of a single nanosize object.

US Patent 7727830 - Ge nanowire FinFET

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7727830.html

Germanium was an early contender as the material used to form transistors due to a high mobility. Eventually silicon won out despite having a lower mobility due to the ease of forming SiO2 dielectric on the silicon surface. This patent from Intel proposes a transistor design going back to germanium and provides a FinFET structure allowing for further scaling to nanometer dimensions. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method comprising:

forming an silicon fin surrounded by trench isolation regions in a semiconductor substrate;

forming a silicon germanium layer over the silicon fin;

forming oxide masking layers at two end regions of the silicon fins;

exposing the silicon germanium layer in middle region of the silicon fin to preferential silicon oxidation to form a germanium nanowire in the middle region of the silicon fin and silicon germanium pillar anchors at the two oxide masked end regions of the silicon fin;

forming an dielectric layer over the substrate; forming a conducting layer over the dielectric layer; and

forming a polysilicon gate line.

US Patent 7727814 - CNT solder interconnect

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7727814.html

There has been much academic work on the use of carbon nanotubes in semiconductor device design however more near-term electronic applications may involve the packaging of ICs due to high thermal conductivity of CNT material. This patent from Intel teaches one method of using CNTs in the solder interconnect of an IC package. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method for interconnecting a first component and a second component comprising:

growing a plurality of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on a first surface of the first component such that the CNTs extend substantially perpendicular from the first surface of the first component;

introducing a passivation layer to fill the gaps between adjacent CNTs; and

soldering the CNTs to a second surface of the second component, wherein a conductive path is established between the first surface of the first component and the second surface of the second component.

US Patent 7727786 - Photonic DRAM with nanotube layer

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7727786.html

DRAM is popular as the main memory in personal computers due to its simplicity and small size. However, the requirement for frequent memory refreshing makes DRAM highly inefficient. This patent from Micron teaches a photonic memory variation in which the bits are stored based on photons in a phosphorescent material and in which aligned nanotube arrays are used to reduce crosstalk between adjacent memory cells. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method of fabricating a memory die, comprising the steps of:

forming a semiconductor substrate supporting a memory cell array, the memory cell array formed by:

forming a plurality of pixels on the semiconductor substrate, each pixel capable of emitting and receiving light; and

forming a material over the plurality of pixels, the material having nanotubes formed therein, the nanotubes having phosphorescent material localized over each pixel, the phosphorescent material capable of receiving light from and emitting light to the pixel; and

electrically coupling the memory cell array to the semiconductor substrate.

US Patent 7727776 - Nanoparticles with 3D nanopore structure

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7727786.html

Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy is one of the more popular applications of metallic nanoparticles for high sensitivity environmental sensing. This patent from Honeywell teaches a variation of SERS using nanoporous nanoparticles. Claim 1 reads:

1. A nanoparticle detection system comprising:

at least one nanoparticle selected from the group consisting of silver, gold and copper, the nanoparticle having 3D intrinsic nanopore structures; and

a self assembly monolayer shell of organic molecules situated around the nanoparticle,

wherein the molecules are SERS reporters; and wherein the nanoparticle provides an enhanced surface for Raman scattering (SERS).

US Patent 7727414 - Heat transfer fluid using carbon nanocapsules

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7727414.html

The increasing popularity of mini-notebooks and other portable computing devices require more processing in a smaller space resulting in a need for higher efficiency cooling solutions. This patent from Industrial Technology Research Institute teaches a carbon nanocapsule fluidic cooling solution. Claim 1 reads:

1. A heat transfer fluid with carbon nanocapsules, comprising:

a fluid; and

a plurality of carbon nanocapsules uniformly dispersed in the fluid, wherein the carbon nanocapsules are modified to bond with at least one kind of functional group, improving dispersiblity in the fluid, and

wherein the carbon nanocapsule is a polyhedral carbon cluster constituting multiple graphite layers having a balls-within-a ball structure, wherein the carbon nanocapsules are present in an amount of 0.05 to 10 parts weight, based on 100 parts by weight of the heat transfer fluid.