US Patent 8163634 - Devices with graphene layers

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/8163634.html

This patent from Alcatel-Lucent teaches techniques to grow a graphene layer on a boron-nitride substrate to enable graphene transistor design. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method, comprising:

providing a crystalline cubic boron-nitride substrate with a diamond-type lattice and an exposed substantially (111)-surface; and

growing a graphene-like layer on the exposed substantially (111)-surface.

US Patent 8000577 - Nanoparticle-enhanced fiber optics

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/8000577.html

This patent from Alcatel-Lucent teaches how to incorporate nanoparticles of a size between 20 and 500 nm into glass fiber to improve the optical amplification in fiber optic communication devices. Claim 1 reads:

1. An optical fibre including a gain medium with a core made up of a transparent material and of nanoparticles comprising a doping element and at least one element that enhances the usage of said doping element, and of an outer cladding surrounding the core, wherein the doping element is erbium (Er), the enhancement element is chosen from among bismuth (Bi) and a combination of antimony (Sb) and of bismuth (Bi), and a size of the nanoparticles is greater than 20 nanometres.

US Patent 7998431 - Nanostructured surface for wettability control

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7998431.html

Lab-on-a-chip devices often include an electrophoretic system to control the movement of biological material in microfluidic channels. This patent from Alcatel-Lucent teaches a way to use arrays of nanoscale posts which may achieve similar effects for smaller quantities of biofluids. Claim 1 reads:

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a substrate having a surface a volume-tunable-material on said surface; and

fluid-support-structures over said surface, each of said fluid-support-structures being partially embedded in said volume-tunable-material wherein side portions of said fluid-support-structures contact said volume-tunable-material and tops of said fluid-support-structures protrude out of said volume-tunable-material, each of said fluid-support-structures has at least one dimension of about 1 millimeter or less and said fluid-support-structures are moveable in response to a volume transition of said volume-tunable-material.

US Patent 7884530 - Reversible actuation in arrays of nanostructures

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7884530.html

The feet of a gekko have been identified to have nanostructured properties which provide an adhesiveness allowing them to stick to walls. This patent from Alcatel-Lucent teaches a way to fabricate nanostructured films which may provide similar properties. Claim 1 reads:

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a substrate with a surface;

a polymer layer attached to a region of the surface;

a plurality of nanostructures, a first end of each nanostructure being in the polymer layer and a second end of each nanostructure protruding from the polymer layer;

wherein the nanostructures are configured to move in a predetermined direction from a first position to a second position in response to a change in thickness of the polymer layer from a first thickness thereof to a second thickness.

US Patent 7869686 - Optical fiber amplifier using quantum dots

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7869686.html

Doped fibers are used in optical communications to amplify signals without requiring optoelectric conversion. This patent from Alcatel-Lucent teaches a doped optical fiber including quantum dots having a size chosen to select a wavelength for optical pumping and improve the effectiveness of amplification. Claim 1 reads:

1. An amplifying optical fiber comprising a core and a cladding, wherein the core comprises:

a monomode core comprising a dopant and quantum dots, and propagating an optical signal; and

a multimode core surrounding the monomode core, and receiving a pumping signal, wherein the dopant is provided for coupling with the pumping signal to amplify the optical signal, and the quantum dots are used for selecting a wavelength of the pumping signal, and wherein a diameter of the quantum dots is in a range between 2 nm and 5 nm.

US Patent 7833653 - Reserve cell array nanostructured battery

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7833653.html

Conventional electrolytic batteries are designed to provide a fixed operational voltage during the battery lifespan. However, this patent from Alcatel-Lucent teaches an electrolytic battery structure having segmented nanostructured electodes which allow for a controlled selection in the voltage or current provided and which can help extend battery life. Claim 1 reads:  

1. A method for generating a current from a battery, said battery comprising an electrode divided into a plurality of cells, each of said cells in said plurality having a plurality of nanostructures disposed thereon, said method comprising:

selectively contacting an electrolyte fluid with the electrode in a number of cells in said plurality of cells, wherein said number is a function of a desired current to be generated by said battery.

US Patent 7785733 - Reserve cell-array nanostructured battery

http://ip.com/patent/US7785733

In electrolytic batteries reactions occur between the electrolytic fluid and the electrode material that can limit battery lifetime. This patent from Alcatel-Lucent teaches forming nanostructured surface barriers between the electrode and the electrolyte to avoid this problem. Claim 1 reads:

1. An apparatus comprising:

a first electrode having a plurality of separate cells;

an electrolyte fluid;

a nanostructured surface corresponding to at least one of said cells in said plurality of separate cells,

wherein said nanostructured surface is disposed between a portion of said electrode in said at least one of said cells and said electrolyte fluid in a way such that said nanostructured surface prevents contact of the electrolyte fluid and said portion of said electrode.

US Patent 7781061 - Graphene transistor on BN substrate

http://ip.com/patent/US7781061

This latest patent from Alcatel-Lucent teaches a method of epitaxial growth of graphene layers on a boron nitride substrate to form high speed graphene transistors. Claim 1 reads:
1. An apparatus, comprising:

a crystalline substrate with a diamond-type lattice and a substantially (111)-surface, the crystalline substrate being a cubic boron nitride substrate;

a graphene-like layer on the substantially (111)-surface; and

a region comprising boron nitride on a portion of the graphene-like layer, the portion of the graphene-like layer being located between the region comprising boron nitride and the substrate.

US Patent 7764004 - Bent nanostructure clumps

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7764004.html

This patent from Alcatel-Lucent teaches a manufacturing technique for tunable nanostructured clumps which may be used in various applications including diffraction gratings and diagnostics of biological cells. Claim 1 reads:

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a substrate having a surface;

a plurality of nanostructures each having a first end and a second end,

wherein the first end of each of the plurality of nanostructures is attached to the surface; and

wherein at least a portion of the second ends of the plurality of nanostructures are bent toward one another to form two or more similarly configured clumps, each of the two or more similarly configured clumps including two or more nanostructures.

US Patent 7749646 - Reversibly activated nanostructured battery

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7749646.html

In conventional electrolytic batteries contact between the electrolyte and the electrode eventually depletes the electrode material. This patent from Alcatel-Lucent teaches a way to avoid this problem by using a nanostructured pattern to periodically separate the electrolyte and the electrode when the battery is not in use. Claim 1 reads:

1. A battery comprising:

an electrode having at least one surface;

a plurality of nanostructures, disposed on said surface to form a feature pattern on said surface;

an electrolyte liquid in contact with said nanostructures, and

a fluid disposed within said feature pattern, wherein said fluid is controllable to reversibly change a degree of penetration of said feature pattern by said electrolyte liquid.

US Patent 7678495 - Graphitic nanostructured battery

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7678495.html

In order to increase the efficiency of lithium batteries this patent from Alcatel-Lucent teaches forming graphitic nanoposts as the electrode material. Claim 1 reads:

1. A battery, comprising:

an electrolyte fluid; and

a first electrode formed at least in part from a patterned plurality of nanostructured features on a substrate,

the nanostructured features each including graphitic carbon,

the electrolyte fluid being in contact with a surface formed by the patterned plurality of nanostructured features, and

the electrolyte fluid being disposed between the first electrode and a second electrode;

wherein the patterned plurality of nanostructured features, in addition to forming at least a part of the first electrode, enables controllable penetration of the electrolyte fluid through the surface and into contact with the substrate of the first electrode.

US Patent 7657142 - Manufacture of nanoparticle optical fiber

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7657142.html

Telecommunication systems often employ glass fibers doped with ions to amplify optical signals. Nanoparticles have been proposed to assist in such doping but have been subject to oxidation which limit their effectiveness. This patent from Alcatel-Lucent discloses a method to avoid such oxidation. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method for manufacturing an optical fiber, comprising:

creating a preform, containing nanoparticles bearing an active element including at least one recess proximate to at least part of the nanoparticles; and

introducing a non-oxidizing gas into the recess, forming the fibers of the preform, thereby limiting the chances that the nanoparticles in the preform will oxidize.

US Patent 7628041 - Carbon fiber alignment via glass drawing

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7628041.html

This patent from Alcatel-Lucent applies the technology used to manufacture fiber optic cable toward the formation of long strands of aligned carbon nanotubes. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method for assembling carbon particles into at least one aligned carbon fiber, the method comprising the step of drawing glass containing said carbon particles so as to form at least one carbon fiber from said carbon particles.

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 7457508 - High optical transmission nanocrystal composites

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7457508.html

This patent from Lucent (now Alcatel-Lucent) teaches improved fiber optics based on nanocrystal/polymer composites. Claim 1 reads:

1. A composition of matter, comprising:

a polymer matrix including polymer chains having a plurality of carbon-halogen bonds; and

a plurality of nanocrystal quantum dots dispersed and separated apart from each other within the polymer matrix,

wherein the polymer chains include aromatic groups.