US Patent 8207449 - Non-metallic nanowire electronics

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/8207449.html

This patent from General Electric has priority going back to 2003 and teaches the in situ growth of non-metallic nanowires for applications as electronic sensors or nanoelectromechanical devices. Claim 1 reads:

1. An electronic device, said electronic device comprising:

a) at least one substrate;

b) a plurality of electrodes, wherein said plurality of electrodes are disposed on said substrate, and wherein said plurality of electrodes comprises a first electrode and a second electrode in electrical communication with each other via at least one non-metallic nanowire conductor extending from said first electrode to said second electrode, and wherein the at least one non-metallic nanowire grows from a portion of a catalyst disposed on an edge of the first electrode, and wherein the non-metallic nanowire comprises an oxide, a nitride, a boride, a carbide, or combinations thereof.                             

US Patent 7982570 - CNT-enhanced inductor

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7982570.html

This patent from General Electric teaches how carbon nanotubes can be used to enhance the Q-factor (a measure of energy storage versus energy dissipation) of inductors used in magnetic resonance imaging. Claim 1 reads:

1. An inductor comprising an electrical conductor wound in a magnetic flux concentrating pattern, the electrical conductor comprising:

a substrate formed into a shape of the inductor; and

a plurality of carbon nanotubes substantially aligned with an axis along a center of the electrical conductor, wherein the plurality of carbon nanotubes are grown on the substrate.

US Patent 7902736 - Gated nanorod field emitter

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7902736.html

This patent from GE teaches a variation of field emission devices based on metallic nanorods. Claim 1 reads:

1. A gated nanorod field emission device comprising:

a) a substrate;

b) a dielectric layer residing on the substrate;

c) a gate metal layer residing on top of the dielectric layer;

d) microcavities in the dielectric and gate metal layers;

e) nanoporous anodized aluminum oxide posts residing on the substrate within the microcavities; and

f) nanorod field emitters in the nanoporous anodized aluminum oxide posts.

US Patent 7893348 - Vertically oriented Si nanowire array for a solar cell

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7893348.html

This patent from GE teaches growing an array of silicon nanowires on a substrate to form a doped layer of a p-i-n photovoltaic cell. Claim 1 reads:

1. A photovoltaic device comprising:

a) a plurality of crystalline Si nanowires grown directly on an electrically conductive substrate and disposed in a substantially vertical orientation on the substrate, the Si nanowires having a doping of a first type;

b) a first conformal Si layer of amorphous intrinsic silicon disposed conformally on the plurality of crystalline Si nanowires, such that the first conformal Si layer effectively absorbs a majority of light impinging on the photovoltaic device;

c) a second conformal amorphous Si layer disposed conformally on the first conformal Si layer, the second conformal amorphous Si layer having a doping of a second type, thereby providing for a charge separating junction;

d) a conductive material layer disposed on the second conformal Si layer; and

e) top and bottom contacts operable for connecting the device to an external circuit,

wherein the bottom contact is in electrical contact with the plurality of nanowires and the top contact is in electrical contact with the second conformal Si layer.

US Patent 7781977 - High temperature photonic structure for tungsten filament

http://ip.com/patent/US7781977

Infrared emission can reduce the energy efficiency of incandescent lamps up to 70%. This patent from GE teaches forming a thin film of metal nanoparticles on a light source in order to suppress the emission of infrared wavelengths. Claim 1 reads:

1. A light source comprising

emissive components having deposited thereon a thin film metal layer in the form of a photonic lattice comprising discreet nano-particles,

the light source exhibiting a suppression of emissions in excess of 900 nm and a shift thereof to wavelengths in the visible or lower infrared spectrum during operation.

US Patent 7652280 - Nanowire OLED

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7652280.html

This patent from General Electric teaches manufacturing techniques incorporating semiconductor nanowires into transparent OLEDs.

1. A device, comprising:

a light transmissive element;

a nano-wire light-emitting device; and

a light transmissive controller communicating with the nano-wire light-emitting device;

wherein the nano-wire light-emitting device and the light transmissive controller are supported by the light transmissive element.

US Patent 7625502 - Manufacture of nanoscale scintillation material

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7625502.html

Scintillation materials are important to radiation detectors used in medical imaging. This patent from GE teaches how nanoscale scintilators can enhance the resolution and luminosity of such imaging devices. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method for making nano-scale particles of a halide based scintillation material, comprising:

combining a first solution comprising one or more metal salts and a second solution comprising one or more halide precursors to form nano-scale particles of a halide based scintillation material, wherein both the first solution and the second solution comprise ionic liquids; and

isolating the nano-scale particles from the combined first and second solutions.

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 7605466 - Adhesive sheet sealed MEMS package

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7605466.html

The manufacture of micromechanical devices can be particularly susceptible to contamination from moisture and small particles which can cause sticking and obstruct movement in the microdevices. This patent from GE teaches a packaging process for pre-singulated MEMS dies using an adhesive sheet that avoids such contamination. Claim 1 reads:

1. A MEMS unit comprising:

a MEMS device on a substrate;

a cover;

an adhesive sheet comprising cutouts for the MEMS device;

the adhesive sheet disposed between the substrate and the cover;

standoff posts spanning between the substrate and the cover; and

the substrate, the adhesive sheet, and the cover bonded together in registration;

whereby the MEMS device is sealed and protected from contamination.

US Patent 7488671 - Masking nanoporous tempates

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7488671.html

Nanoporous templates have been used for several years to grow uniform arrays of vertical nanowires and nanotubes on a substrate. This patent from General Electric teaches patterning the template using a mask to facilitate battery fabrication. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method of making a nanostructure array comprising:

providing a template comprising a plurality of nanopores;

disposing a masking material on the template such that a first number of the plurality of nanopores are fully coated by the masking material and a second number of the plurality of nanopores are not-fully coated by the masking material; and

forming a plurality of nanostructures in only the second number of the plurality of nanopores.

However, some relevant prior art appears to have been overlooked such as Bae et al. "Selective Growth of Carbon Nanotubes on Pre-patterned Porous Anodic Aluminum Oxide" (Advanced Materials, 14, No. 4, 2002) - See Fig. 1.

US Patent 7465497 - High breakdown voltage nanocomposites

US Patent 7465497

This patent from General Electric teaches high-k dielectrics for breakdown resistant spark plugs having based on coated nanoparticle polymer composites. Claim 1 reads:

1. A composition comprising:

a thermoplastic polymer, wherein the thermoplastic polymer has a glass transition temperature greater than or equal to about 100.degree. C.; and

nanoparticles;

wherein the nanoparticles comprise a substrate upon which is disposed a coating composition;

wherein the substrate has a different dielectric constant from that of the coating composition;

and wherein the composition has a breakdown resistance of greater than or equal to about 200 volts/micrometer.

US Patent 7326328 - Nanorod field emitter formed in AAO template

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7326328.html

This patent from GE discloses a method for making a nanorod field emitter array using an AAO template formed in a mesa structure (note: nanorods are typically larger diameter nanowires with smaller aspect ratios). The method produces a smaller emitter to gate distance for more efficient emission. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method comprising the steps of:
a) providing a thin film material comprising: i) a substrate; ii) a dielectric layer on the substrate; and iii) a conductive film on the dielectric layer;
b) lithographically-patterning a patternable material deposited onto the conductive film so as to selectively remove portions of this material;
c) selectively etching the conductive film and dielectric layer in regions where the patternable material has been removed so as to form microcavities;
d) depositing Al inside the microcavities to form Al mesas;
e) anodizing the Al mesas to form localized nanoporous AAO templates; and
f) electrochemically-depositing nanorods in the nanopores of the AAO templates to yield at least one gated nanorod field emission device.

US Patent 7318763 - Fabrication of metallized nanotube array

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7318763.html

This patent from General Electric teaches a CVD method of forming field emission devices by metallizing carbon nanotubes. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method of making a metallized carbon nanostructure, comprising the steps of: a. placing at least one carbon nanostructure formed on a substrate in a furnace; and b. applying a metallic vapor to the carbon nanostructure at a preselected temperature for a preselected period of time so that the metallic vapor reacts with carbon nanostructure to form a metallized nanostructure including a solid core about the carbon nanostructure.

However, the patent examiner may have missed some relevant prior art such as US Patent 6,504,292
(http://www.freepatentsonline.com/6504292.html ) which teaches regarding the formation of metallized carbon nanotube field emitters:

"As shown in FIGS. 3 ( a ) to 3 ( c ), the metal coating 5 can be applied by different known techniques of physical vapor deposition such as sputtering, evaporation or ion beam process, chemical vapor deposition by decomposing metal-containing precursor gas, or electrochemical deposition such as electroless or electrolytic coating. The desired average thickness of the metal film coating on nanostructures, such as carbon nanotubes, and on the substrate is in the range of 0.2-100 nanometer, and preferably in the range of 0.5-20 nanometers. The metal coating 5 does not necessarily have to cover 100% of the surface of the nanostructures 1 or the substrate 2 , as long as continuous paths for electrical conduction along the length is provided to most of the emitting tips 3 . For the purpose of exceeding the percolation limit for continuity of the conducting path, the surface area coverage by the metallic coating is desirably at least about 30%, although a much lower fraction of area coverage is also acceptable if the metal deposition pattern is anisotropic, e.g., with at least ˜5%. In the case of line-of-sight metal deposition such as sputtering, evaporation or ion-beam deposition, the substrate may be rotated, if desired, to overcome the shadowing effect, to ensure sufficient area coverage and to provide symmetry. The result is an assembly 9 of metallized nanostructures on a metallized substrate. "

US Patent 7307540 - Logic function in response to MEMS sensor

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7307540.html

This patent from General Electric presents some broad claims to the combination of both sensing and logic functions in a MEMS device. Claim 9 reads:

9. A microelectromechanical system sensor, comprising: a sensing portion to generate a mechanical movement in response to a current to be sensed; and a logic portion to mechanically perform a logic function in response to the movement.

US Patent 7285897 - Micromachined sensors on curved surface

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7285897.html

Micromachined ultrasonic transducer arrays are a recently developed component of some medical imaging devices. This patent from General Electric proposes a construction of such arrays on curved surfaces to improve field of view. Claim 1 reads:

1. A sensor device comprising: a support structure comprising a spine having a profile that is generally curved and a multiplicity of teeth extending from one side of said curved spine; and a multiplicity of micromachined sensors supported by said support structure in positions whereby a curved aperture is provided.

US Patent 7247670 - Nanotube dispersion using polybenzyl ethyl dendrimer

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7247670.html

This patent from General Electric alleges an improved method for single walled carbon nanotube dispersion that can separate the semiconducting nanotubes from the metallic nanotubes using non-covalently bonded chemical moiety bonded to a polybenzyl ester dendrimer. Claim 1 reads:

1. A nanostructure comprising: at least one nanotube; at least one chemical moiety non-covalently attached to the at least one nanotube, wherein the at least one chemical moiety is one of a soluble polymer, a soluble oligomer, and combinations thereof; wherein the at least one chemical moiety enhances dispersion of the at least one nanotube; and at least one dendrimer bonded to the at least one chemical moiety, wherein the at least one dendrimer comprises a polybenzyl ether dendrimer.