US Patent 8227979 - Quantum dot color matching

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/8227979.html

The color of quantum dots is determined by both the semiconductor material and the size of the quantum dots. This patent from Samsung teaches how to create customized LEDs with a color matching any physical material by properly selecting a population of quantum dots. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method comprising:

detecting a color of a material;

converting the color to an RGB/CMYK value; and

matching the color comprising:

mixing at least one population of a quantum dot into a matrix material; and

placing the mixture on a light emitting diode to convert a light output of the light emitting diode to a color matching the color of the material.                             

US Patent 8227957 - Piezoelectric nanowire electrical energy generator

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This patent from Samsung teaches the use of piezoelectric nanowires in an auxiliary power source for mobile devices which can convert light or mechanical energy into electrical energy. Claim 1 reads:

1. An apparatus for generating electrical energy, comprising:

a first electrode;

a second electrode spaced apart from the first electrode;

a nanowire which includes a piezoelectric material and is disposed on the first electrode;

an active layer disposed on the first electrode;

a conductive layer disposed on the active layer; and

an insulating film disposed between the conductive layer and the nanowire, wherein the nanowire and the active layer are electrically connected to each other.

US Patent 8221716 - CNT synthesis using ultrasonic waves

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/8221716.html

Conventional carbon nanotube production processes require high temperatures and low pressure environments and produce unwanted byproducts. This patent from Samsung teaches a new way to manufacture single walled carbon nanotubes at room temperature and atmospheric pressure while reducing unwanted carbon byproducts. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method of synthesizing carbon nanotubes, the method comprising:

forming a solution including an organometallic compound containing catalyst particles and a solvent; adding at least one support to the solution; and

applying radiation to the solution to which the at least one support is added, after adding the at least one support to the solution,

wherein the carbon nanotubes are synthesized on a surface of the at least one support by applying the radiation to the solution and wherein the radiation includes one of ultrasonic and electromagnetic waves.

US Patent 8221715 - N-doping CNT material

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Carbon nanotubes are usually in the p-doped state after being prepared because electron depletion occurs due to the use of an acid for the removal of the metal catalysts used in growing the nanotubes. This patent from Samsung teaches a method for n-doping the nanotubes using reducing agents and thus enables the creation of bipolar electronics from nanotubes. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method for n-doping of carbon nano-tubes comprising:

n-doping carbon nano-tubes with a carbon nano-tube n-doping material comprising a compound containing at least two pyridinium derivatives in its molecular structure, the compound being in a reduced form thereof.

US Patent 8207521 - Catalyst-free single crystal silicon nanowires

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Metal catalysts are conventionally used to fabricate semiconductor nanowires but the catalyst material introduces impurities in the nanowires. This patent from Samsung teaches how to fabricate silicon nanowires without catalysts and includes some broad claims for the catalyst-free nanowires. Claim 1 reads:

1. A catalyst-free single crystal silicon nanowire consisting of:

silicon; and

at least one dopant,

wherein the catalyst-free single crystal silicon nanowire has a diameter of about 2 nanometers to about 200 nanometers and a length of about 10 nanometers to about 1,000 micrometers.

US Patent 8197789 - Selective elimination of metallic carbon nanotubes

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The fabrication of single walled carbon nanotubes usually results in a mixture of nanotubes with metallic and semiconducting properties. This patent from Samsung teaches using xenon or infrared lamps to remove the metallic nanotubes. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method for selectively eliminating metallic carbon nanotubes, the method comprising:

irradiating carbon nanotubes with light having a continuous spectrum of wavelengths of about 180 nm to about 11 μm and an intensity of about 30 mW/cm² to about 300 mW/cm² to selectively eliminate metallic carbon nanotubes.

US Patent 8193030 - ReRAM with nanotube stabilization layer

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This patent from Samsung teaches using a carbon nanotube layer to stabilize the resistance switching properties of ReRAM memory cells. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method of fabricating a storage node useable in a nonvolatile memory device, the method comprising:

forming a lower metal layer;

forming a first oxide on a surface of the lower metal layer;

forming a middle metal layer on the first oxide;

forming a second oxide on a surface of the middle metal layer;

forming an upper metal layer on the second oxide;

forming a carbon nanotube layer on the upper metal layer; and

forming a passivation layer on the carbon nanotube layer.                             

US Patent 8193029 - Nanowire PCRAM

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This patent from Samsung teaches scaling phase change memory to dimensions in the range of 1-25 square nanometers. Additional advantages include a smaller switching current and higher operational speed. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method of manufacturing a phase-change random access memory (PRAM) device, comprising:

forming a lower electrode through an insulating layer;

forming a phase-change nanowire to be electrically connected to the lower electrode using a single element; and

forming an upper electrode electrically connected to the phase-change nanowire.

US Patent 8192595 - Metal oxide/carbon nanotube composite

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Capacitive deionization is a technique for removing ionic material in a medium by absorbing the ions into a carbon electrode. This patent from Samsung teaches an electrode material based on a mixture of carbon nanotubes and nickel-cobalt oxide which is capable of an improved ionic removal rate. Claim 1 reads:

1. A nanotube composite comprising:

a carbon nanotube; and

a transition metal oxide coating layer disposed on an entire surface of the carbon nanotube, wherein the transition metal oxide coating layer comprises a nickel-cobalt oxide,

wherein a molar ratio of nickel to cobalt in the nickel-cobalt oxide is about 1:2.                             

US Patent 8178028 - Laser patterning of nanotube network

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This patent from Samsung includes some broad claims for forming transparent electrodes from carbon nanotubes patterned by laser etching. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method for patterning a nanostructure-film, comprising:

etching a nanostructure-film with a laser, wherein the nanostructure-film includes at least one interconnected network of carbon nanotubes.                             

US Patent 8143685 - Image sensor with nanodot focusing

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This patent from Samsung teaches the use of metal nanoparticles to focus light into submicron size regions which may be useful to create high density imaging sensors of smaller size. Claim 1 reads:

1. An image sensor, comprising:

a plurality of pixels disposed in an array, each pixel comprising a plurality of sub-pixels, and each sub-pixel comprising a plurality of floating body transistors that receive light, wherein each floating body transistor comprises:

a back gate;

a gate insulating layer disposed on the back gate;

a source region and a drain region disposed on the gate insulating layer;

a semiconductor layer comprising a floating body region disposed between the source region and the drain region; and

at least one metal nanodot focusing the light onto the floating body region.

US Patent 8115189 - Silica nanowire

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This patent from Samsung teaches the manufacture of silica nanowires having excellent capacitance and light absorbing properties. Claim 1 reads:

1. A silica nanowire comprising a core portion and an inner region surrounding and contacting the core portion, wherein the core portion comprises a silicon rich oxide and the inner region comprises silicon nanodots.

US Patent 8101980 - Embedded gate graphene transistor

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This patent from Samsung teaches a simplified method for manufacturing graphene nano-ribbon transistors. Claim 1 reads:

1. A graphene device comprising:

at least one embedded gate on a substrate;

an upper oxide layer on the at least one embedded gate; and

a graphene channel and a plurality of electrodes on the upper oxide layer, the plurality of electrodes including a source electrode and a drain electrode,

wherein the at least one embedded gate does not overlap with the source electrode and the drain electrode.

US Patent 8096263 - Inkjet printing of magnetic nanoparticles

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/8096263.html

Inkjet printing of nanoparticles has been under development over the past decade to provide inexpensive manufacture of conductive lines in microcircuitry. This patent from Samsung attempts to address the problem of nanoparticle dispersion during inkjet printing using a magnetic field generator. Claim 1 reads:

1. A circuit line forming device, comprising:

an inkjet head to eject a conductive ink onto one side of a substrate, the conductive ink containing nanoparticles comprising a ferromagnetic core and a conductive layer surrounding the ferromagnetic core; and

a magnetic field generator part, positioned on the other side of the substrate in correspondence with the inkjet head, wherein the magnetic field generator part comprises a power source and a coil receiving an electric current from the power source to form a magnetic field and applies a magnetic field on the conductive ink, when the conductive ink is ejected to form circuit lines.

US Patent 8089797 - Nanowire racetrack memory

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This patent from Samsung includes a memory technology sounding similar to the racetrack memory invented by IBM using nanowires formed of ferromagnetic material. Claim 1 reads:

1. A memory cell comprising:

a memory cell array unit including a plurality of nano wires arranged vertically on a substrate, each of the plurality of nano wires having a plurality of domains for storing information;

a nano wire selection unit formed on the substrate, the nano wire selection unit being configured to select at least one of the plurality of nano wires;

a domain movement control unit formed on the substrate and configured to control a domain movement operation with respect to at least one of the plurality of nano wires; and

a read/write control unit formed on the substrate and configured to control at least one of a read operation and a write operation with respect to at least one of the plurality of nano wires.

US Patent 8075950 - Process of preparing graphene nanoshell

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/8075950.html

Graphene usually refers to the planar form of a carbon lattice having a honeycomb atomic arrangement. This patent from Samsung teaches a way to form 3D shells of graphene which may have similar properties as carbon nanotubes or fullerene. Claim 1 reads:

1. A process of preparing a graphene shell, the process comprising:

forming a graphitizing catalyst in a three-dimensional form;

coating a polymer on the graphitizing catalyst;

heat-treating the polymer coated on the graphitizing catalyst in an inert or reductive atmosphere to form a graphene shell; and

further comprising separating the graphene shell by removing the graphitizing catalyst with an acid-treatment after the heat-treatment.

US Patent 8075864 - Preparing large area graphene sheets

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/8075864.html

This patent from Samsung teaches a way to manufacture graphene sheets having a wide area which may assist future mass production of high speed nanoelectronics. Claim 1 reads:

1. A process of preparing a graphene sheet, the process comprising:

forming a graphitizing catalyst in the form of a sheet;

forming a sheet of polymer on the graphitizing catalyst; and

heat-treating the polymer on the graphitizing catalyst in an inert or reductive atmosphere to form a graphene sheet,

wherein a width and a length of the graphene sheet are each about 1 millimeter or greater.

US Patent 8072039 - Quantum dot energy conversion film

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/8072039.html

This patent from Samsung teaches how thin films including quantum dots can be used to convert incoming photons to an energy level capable of being converted to electrical energy. Claim 1 reads:

1. A solar cell module comprising:

a solar cell generating an electric current upon absorbing light, and at least one layer comprising a quantum dot and having a thickness of about 20 nanometers to about 10 micrometers,

wherein the layer converts an incident light to a lower energy light on the entire light incident surface of the solar cell.

US Patent 8053135 - Nanoparticle thin film for energy storage

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This patent from Samsung teaches a catalyst layer for a fuel cell formed from metal nanoparticles and includes some broad claims covering the layer. Claim 1 reads:

1. A microporous thin film coated on a substrate, the microporous thin film comprising metal nanoparticles and having a microporous structure with porosity of at least about 20%, wherein the metal nanoparticles have an average particle size ranging from about 1 to about 10 nm.

US Patent 8052855 - CNT gas sensor

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This patent from Samsung teaches a carbon nanotube gas sensor having improved sensitivity for sensing stable gases such as carbon dioxide and improving the adhesion between carbon nanotubes and electrodes. Claim 1 reads:

1. A carbon nanotube gas sensor comprising:

a substrate;

an insulating layer formed on the substrate;

electrodes formed on a same plane of the insulating layer; and

carbon nanotube barriers, which protrude higher than the electrodes, and are disposed in spaces between the electrodes; and

gas detecting spaces formed on the electrodes between the carbon nanotube barriers;

wherein ends of the carbon nanotube barriers are exposed, and the carbon nanotube barriers each comprise a plurality of carbon nanotubes, a first organic polymer, and a different second organic polymer.