Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080218740 | Nanowire-based photonic devices - Embodiments of the present invention are related to nanowire-based devices that can be configured and operated as modulators, chemical sensors, and light-detection devices. In one aspect, a nanowire-based device includes a reflective member, a resonant cavity surrounded by at least a portion of the reflective member, and at least one nanowire disposed within the resonant cavity. The nanowire includes at least one active segment selectively disposed along the length of the nanowire to substantially coincide with at least one antinode of light resonating within the cavity. The active segment can be configured to interact with the light resonating within the cavity. | 09-11-2008 |
20080238478 | FPGA architecture at conventonal and submicron scales - Reconfigurable logic devices and methods of programming the devices are disclosed. The logic device includes a look-up table (LUT) and at least one storage element configured for sampling LUT output signals. The LUT comprises a plurality of input signals, an array of programmable impedance devices operably coupled to the input signals, and the LUT output signals. Each programmable impedance device in the array includes a first electrode operably coupled to one of the input signal, a second electrode disposed to form a junction wherein the second electrode at least partially overlaps the first electrode, and a programmable material disposed between the first electrode and the second electrode. The programmable material operably couples the first electrode and the second electrode such that each programmable impedance device exhibits a non-volatile programmable impedance. The array may be configured as a one-dimensional or two-dimensional array. | 10-02-2008 |
20080239462 | Composite material with controllable resonant cells - An apparatus for controlling propagation of incident electromagnetic radiation is described, comprising a composite material having electromagnetically reactive cells of small dimension relative to a wavelength of the incident electromagnetic radiation. At least one of a capacitive and inductive property of at least one of the electromagnetically reactive cells is temporally controllable to allow temporal control of an associated effective refractive index encountered by the incident electromagnetic radiation while propagating through the composite material. | 10-02-2008 |
20080268396 | Active control of time-varying spatial temperature distribution - In an embodiment, a microchip includes a plurality of heat-producing electronic devices and a plurality of heat-sensitive devices. A plurality of temperature control elements are spatially distributed relative to the heat-producing electronic devices and the heat-sensitive devices to enable active control of temperature to compensate for spatially non-uniform and temporally-varying heat emitted from the heat-producing electronic devices. | 10-30-2008 |
20080296785 | Method of forming catalyst nanoparticles for nanowire growth and other applications - Methods for forming a predetermined pattern of catalytic regions having nanoscale dimensions are provided for use in the growth of nanowires. The methods include one or more nanoimprinting steps to produce arrays of catalytic nanoislands or nanoscale regions of catalytic material circumscribed by noncatalytic material. | 12-04-2008 |
20090041466 | ELECTRONIC SYSTEM HAVING FREE SPACE OPTICAL ELEMENTS - An electronic system includes a first circuit board having a first optical element and a second circuit board having a second optical element positioned to electronically communicate with the first optical element over free space. The system also includes a cold plate having openings positioned to enable the optical communications over free space is positioned between the first circuit board and the second circuit board. The system further includes a condenser and a fluid conduit containing a cooling fluid configured to absorb heat through the cold plate and to convey the heat to the condenser, where the fluid conduit connects the cold plate and the condenser. | 02-12-2009 |
20090188557 | Photonic Device And Method Of Making Same Using Nanowire Bramble Layer - A photonic device and a method of making the device employ a bramble layer of nanowires having an uneven contour. The photonic device and the method include a first layer of a microcrystalline material provided on a substrate surface and a bramble layer of nanowires formed on the first layer. The photonic device and the method further include a second layer provided on the bramble layer. The nanowires have first ends integral to crystallites in the microcrystalline first layer and second ends opposite to the first ends. Different angular orientations of the nanowires provide the uneven contour of the bramble layer. The second layer has an uneven surface corresponding to the uneven contour of the bramble layer. | 07-30-2009 |
20090190892 | Photonic Connection And Method For Enhancing Alignment Accuracy Thereof - A photonic connection includes a first fiber and a second fiber. The first fiber has a core with a first predetermined pattern defined on or in a facet thereof, and the second fiber has a core with a second predetermined pattern defined on or in a facet thereof. The second predetermined pattern is complementary to the first predetermined pattern such that the first fiber or the second fiber fits into another of the second fiber or the first fiber at a single orientation and position. | 07-30-2009 |
20090246425 | Systems And Methods For Auto-Aligning Members Bearing Correlated Patterns - A method of aligning first and second mating surfaces includes: generating a random or pseudo-random function; convolving the random or pseudo-random function with a spread function to produce a correlated function; forming a pattern of bi-polar material on the first mating surface based on a quantization of the correlated function; and forming a complementary pattern of the bi-polar material on the second mating surface. The complementary patterns exert a force on each other toward a desired alignment of the first and second mating surfaces. A system includes a first member having a first correlated pattern of material disposed on a first mating surface; and a second member having a second correlated pattern of material disposed on a second mating surface, wherein the second correlated pattern is complementary to the first correlated pattern. The first and second correlated patterns interact to facilitate a desired alignment of the first and second members. | 10-01-2009 |
20090294755 | Fabricating Arrays Of Metallic Nanostructures - A patterned array of metallic nanostructures and fabrication thereof is described. A device comprises a patterned array of metallic columns vertically extending from a substrate. Each metallic column is formed by metallically coating one of an array of non-metallic nanowires catalytically grown from the substrate upon a predetermined lateral pattern of seed points placed thereon according to a nanoimprinting process. An apparatus for fabricating a patterned array of metallic nanostructures is also described. | 12-03-2009 |
20100091662 | Defect-tolerant demultiplexers based on threshold logic - Embodiments of the present invention include defect-tolerant demultiplexer crossbars that employ, or that can be modeled by demultiplexer crossbars that employ, threshold logic “TL” elements. The threshold-logic elements provide for tolerance for signal variation on internal signals lines of a defect-tolerant demultiplexer crossbar, and thus tolerance for defects which produce internal signal variation. | 04-15-2010 |
20100094580 | Method and system for device reconfiguration for defect amelioration - Embodiments of the present invention are directed to cost-effective defect amelioration in manufactured electronic devices that include nanoscale components. Certain embodiments of the present invention are directed to amelioration of defects in electronic devices that contain nanoscale demultiplexers. In certain embodiments of the present invention, the nanoscale-demultiplexer-containing devices include reconfigurable encoders. In one embodiment of the present invention, the table of codes within a reconfigurable encoder is permuted, and a device is configured in accordance with the permuted codes, in order to produce a permuted table of codes that, when input to an appropriately configured nanoscale demultiplexer, produces correct outputs despite defects in the nanoscale demultiplexer. | 04-15-2010 |
20100112809 | Multilevel imprint lithography - A mold with a protruding pattern is provided that is pressed into a thin polymer film via an imprinting process. Controlled connections between nanowires and microwires and other lithographically-made elements of electronic circuitry are provided. An imprint stamp is configured to form arrays of approximately parallel nanowires which have (1) micro dimensions in the X direction, (2) nano dimensions and nano spacing in the Y direction, and three or more distinct heights in the Z direction. The stamp thus formed can be used to connect specific individual nanowires to specific microscopic regions of microscopic wires or pads. The protruding pattern in the mold creates recesses in the thin polymer film, so the polymer layer acquires the reverse of the pattern on the mold. After the mold is removed, the film is processed such that the polymer pattern can be transferred on a metal/semiconductor pattern on the substrate. | 05-06-2010 |
20100165431 | Dynamically reconfigurable holograms with electronically erasable programmable intermediate layers - Various embodiments of the present invention relate to dynamically reconfigurable hologram comprising a phase-modulation layer and an intensity-control layer. The phase modulation layer comprises an electronically programmable erasable negative index material crossbar. The crossbar includes a first layer of approximately parallel nanowires ( | 07-01-2010 |
20100293518 | Nanoscale interconnection interface - One embodiment of the present invention provides a demultiplexer implemented as a nanowire crossbar or a hybrid nanowire/microscale-signal-line crossbar with resistor-like nanowire junctions. The demultiplexer of one embodiment provides demultiplexing of signals input on k microscale address lines to 2 | 11-18-2010 |
20100302625 | SUB-DIFFRACTION-LIMITED IMAGING SYSTEMS AND METHODS - Various embodiments of the present invention are directed to systems and methods for obtaining images of objects with higher resolution than the diffraction limit. In one aspect, a method for collecting evanescent waves scattered from an object comprises electronically configuring a reconfigurable device to operate as a grating for one or more lattice periods using a computing device. Propagating waves scattered from the object pass through the reconfigurable device and a portion of evanescent waves scattered from the object are projected into the far field of the object. The method includes detecting propagating waves and detecting the portion of evanescent waves projected into the far field for each lattice period using an imaging system. | 12-02-2010 |
20110024714 | Nanoscale Three-Terminal Switching Device - A nanoscale three-terminal switching device has a bottom electrode, a top electrode, and a side electrode, each of which may be a nanowire. The top electrode extends at an angle with respect to the bottom electrode and has an end section going over and overlapping the bottom electrode. An active region is disposed between the top electrode and bottom electrode and contains a switching material. The side electrode is disposed opposite from the top electrode and in electrical contact with the active region. A self-aligned fabrication process may be used to automatically align the formation of the top and side electrodes with respect to the bottom electrode. | 02-03-2011 |
20110057683 | DEFECT-AND-FAILURE-TOLERANT DEMULTIPLEXER USING SERIES REPLICATION AND ERROR-CONTROL ENCODING - One embodiment of the present invention is a method for constructing defect-and-failure-tolerant demultiplexers. This method is applicable to nanoscale, microscale, or larger-scale demultiplexer circuits. Demultiplexer circuits can be viewed as a set of AND gates, each including a reversibly switchable interconnection between a number of address lines, or address-line-derived signal lines, and an output signal line. Each reversibly switchable interconnection includes one or more reversibly switchable elements. In certain demultiplexer embodiments, NMOS and/or PMOS transistors are employed as reversibly switchable elements. In the method that represents one embodiment of the present invention, two or more serially connected transistors are employed in each reversibly switchable interconnection, so that short defects in up to one less than the number of serially interconnected transistors does not lead to failure of the reversibly switchable interconnection. In addition, error-control-encoding techniques are used to introduce additional address-line-derived signal lines and additional switchable interconnections so that the demultiplexer may function even when a number of individual, switchable interconnections are open-defective. | 03-10-2011 |
20110173306 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SELF CONFIGURATION OF RECONFIGURABLE SYSTEMS - The invention is a system and method for reconfigurable computers. The invention involves a plurality of reconfigurable component clusters (RCCs), each of which can change their respective configuration upon receiving a configuration command. The invention uses a reconfiguration network for distributing the configuration command to the RCCs, wherein the reconfiguration network comprises a plurality of cells, wherein each RCC is connected to a cell. | 07-14-2011 |
20110181307 | Nanoscale multiplexer - In one embodiment of the present invention, a microscale or sub-microscale signal line, interconnected with one set of parallel nanowires of a nanowire crossbar, serves as a multiplexer. The multiplexer is used to detect the conductivity state of a nanowire junction within the nanowire crossbar. In one method embodiment of the present invention, a first signal is output to the two nanowires interconnected by the nanowire junction, while a second signal is output to the remaining nanowires of the nanowire crossbar. Then, the second signal is output to the two nanowires interconnected by the nanowire junction, while the first signal is output to the remaining nanowires of the nanowire crossbar. The resulting signal detected on the multiplexer is reflective of the conductivity state of the nanowire junction. | 07-28-2011 |
20110248381 | Multilayer Memristive Devices - A multilayer memristive device includes a first electrode ( | 10-13-2011 |
20110249322 | Nanowire-based opto-electronic device - Nanowire-based opto-electronic devices including nanowire lasers, photodetectors and semiconductor optical amplifiers are disclosed. The devices include nanowires grown from single crystal and/or non-single surfaces. The semiconductor optical amplifiers include nanowire arrays that act as ballast lasers to amplify a signal carried by a signal waveguide. Embodiments of the nanowire lasers and photodetectors include horizontal and vertical nanowires that can provide different polarizations. | 10-13-2011 |
20110266510 | Controlled Placement of Dopants in Memristor Active Regions - Various embodiments of the present invention are direct to nanoscale, reconfigurable memristor devices. In one aspect, a memristor device ( | 11-03-2011 |
20110266605 | Memristive Transistor Memory - A memory device ( | 11-03-2011 |
20110267870 | Decoders Using Memristive Switches - A decoding structure employs a main terminal ( | 11-03-2011 |
20120001653 | Dense Nanoscale Logic Circuitry - One embodiment of the present invention is directed to hybrid-nanoscale/microscale device comprising a microscale layer that includes microscale and/or submicroscale circuit components and that provides an array of microscale or submicroscale pins across an interface surface; and at least two nanoscale-layer sub-layers within a nanoscale layer that interfaces to the microscale layer, each nanoscale-layer sub-layer containing regularly spaced, parallel nanowires, each nanowire of the at least two nanoscale-layer sub-layers in electrical contact with at most one pin provided by the microscale layer, the parallel nanowires of successive nanoscale-layer sub-layers having different directions, with the nanowires of successive nanoscale-layer sub-layers intersecting to form programmable crosspoints. | 01-05-2012 |
20120025343 | THERMOELECTRIC DEVICE HAVING A VARIABLE CROSS-SECTION CONNECTING STRUCTURE - A thermoelectric device having a variable cross-section connecting structure includes a first electrode, a second electrode, and a connecting structure connecting the first electrode and the second electrode. The connecting structure has a first section and a second section. The width of the second section is greater than the width of the first section, and the width of the first section is less than a width that is approximately equivalent to a phonon mean free path through the first section. | 02-02-2012 |
20120036919 | NANOWIRE SENSOR HAVING A NANOWIRE AND ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE FILM - A nanowire sensor includes a first electrode, a second electrode, and a sensing element connecting the first electrode and the second electrode. The sensing element includes at least one nanowire connecting the first electrode and the second electrode and an electrically conductive film covering the at least one nanowire and extending between and contacting the first electrode and the second electrode, wherein conductance of the electrically conductive film is configured to change in the presence of at least one species to enable detection of the at least one species. | 02-16-2012 |
20120105143 | PROGRAMMABLE ANALOG FILTER - A programmable analog filter includes a crossbar array with a number of junction elements and a filter circuit being implemented within the crossbar array. At least a portion of the junction elements form reprogrammable components within the filter circuit. A method for using a programmable analog filter is also provided. | 05-03-2012 |
20120105159 | MEMRISTIVE PROGRAMMABLE FREQUENCY SOURCE AND METHOD - A frequency source and a method of frequency generation employ a memristive negative differential resistance (M-NDR) voltage controlled oscillator (VCO). The frequency source includes a first M-NDR VCO of a plurality of memristive VCOs to provide a first signal having a first signal frequency. The frequency source further includes a second M-NDR VCO of the plurality to provide a second signal having a second signal frequency. The first and second M-NDR VCOs are interconnected with the plurality of memristive VCOs. The first and second M-NDR VCOs have independent programmable states and are connected to a common output of the frequency source. The method includes providing an M-NDR VCOs, where each M-NDR VCO includes an M-NDR device connected in parallel with a capacitance, and applying a bias voltage to activate a selected M-NDR VCO of the plurality to produce a frequency output. | 05-03-2012 |
20120105263 | ANALOG TO DIGITAL CONVERTER - An analog to digital converter includes a dielectric substrate, an analog input wire, and digital output wires, with a metal insulator extending over the digital output wires. The analog input wire can be in proximity to the dielectric substrate and can generate heat when an electric current flows through the analog input wire. The digital output wires can also be in proximity to the dielectric substrate. The metal insulator can have a phase transition temperature above which the metal insulator is electrically conductive to short circuit at least one of the digital output wires in contact with a metal insulator portion above the phase transition temperature. The digital output wires can be arranged at predetermined distances from the analog input wire such that output wires have varying short circuit thresholds. | 05-03-2012 |
20120112167 | NANOSCALE ELECTRONIC DEVICE - One example of the present invention is a nanoscale electronic device comprising a first conductive electrode, a second conductive electrode, and an anisotropic dielectric material layered between the first and second electrodes having a permittivity in a direction approximately that of the shortest distance between the first and second electrodes less than the permittivity in other directions within the anisotropic dielectric material. Additional examples of the present invention include integrated circuits that contain multiple nanoscale electronic devices that each includes an anisotropic dielectric material layered between first and second electrodes having a permittivity in a direction approximately that of the shortest distance between the first and second electrodes less than the permittivity in other directions within the anisotropic dielectric material. | 05-10-2012 |
20120243075 | GAIN-CLAMPED SEMICONDUCTOR OPTICAL AMPLIFIERS - A gain-clamped semiconductor optical amplifier comprises: at least one first surface; at least one second surface, each second surface facing and electrically isolated from a respective first surface; a plurality of nanowires connecting each opposing pair of the first and second surfaces in a bridging configuration; and a signal waveguide overlapping the nanowires such that an optical signal traveling along the signal waveguide is amplified by energy provided by electrical excitation of the nanowires. | 09-27-2012 |
20130050409 | DYNAMICALLY RECONFIGURABLE HOLOGRAMS FOR GENERATING COLOR HOLOGRAPHIC IMAGES - Various embodiments of the present invention are directed to negative refractive index-based holograms that can be electronically controlled and dynamically reconfigured to generate one or more color three-dimensional holographic images. In one aspect, a hologram comprises a phase-control layer having a plurality of phase modulation elements. The phase-modulation elements are configured with a negative effective refractive index and selectively transmit wavelengths associated with one of three primary color wavelength. The hologram also includes an intensity-control layer including a plurality of intensity-control elements. One or more color three-dimensional images can be produced by electronically addressing the phase-modulation elements and intensity-control elements in order to phase shift and control the intensity of light transmitted through the hologram. A method for generating a color holographic image using the hologram is also provided, as is a system for generating a color holographic image. | 02-28-2013 |
20130207069 | METAL-INSULATOR TRANSITION SWITCHING DEVICES - A metal-insulator transition switching device includes a first electrode and a second electrode. A channel region which includes a bulk metal-insulator transition material separates the first electrode and the second electrode. A method for forming a metal-insulator transition switching device includes depositing a layer of bulk metal-insulator transition material in between a first electrode and a second electrode to form a channel region and forming a gate electrode operatively connected to the channel region. | 08-15-2013 |
20140086806 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR SYNTHESIZING MOLECULES ON SUBSTRATES - Systems and methods for synthesizing molecules on a substrate surface are disclosed. In one aspect, a molecule synthesizing system includes a crossbar array with a planar arrangement of crossbar junctions. Each crossbar junction is independently switchable between a high-resistance state and a low-resistance state. The system also includes a slab with a first surface and a second surface parallel to the first surface. The second surface is disposed on the crossbar array. A current applied to a crossbar junction in a high-resistance state creates an adjacent heated site on the first surface for attaching thermally reactive molecules for molecular synthesis. | 03-27-2014 |
20140256123 | ELECTRICALLY ACTUATED DEVICE AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING THE FORMATION OF DOPANTS THEREIN - In an example of a method for controlling the formation of dopants in an electrically actuated device, a predetermined concentration of a dopant initiator is selected. The predetermined amount of the dopant is localized, via diffusion, at an interface between an electrode and an active region adjacent to the electrode. The dopant initiator reacts with a portion of the active region to form the dopants. | 09-11-2014 |