Patents by Inventor Bruce Allen Cook

Bruce Allen Cook has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Rare earth-doped materials with enhanced thermoelectric figure of merit
    Patent number: 9437796
    Abstract: A thermoelectric material and a thermoelectric converter using this material. The thermoelectric material has a first component including a semiconductor material and a second component including a rare earth material included in the first component to thereby increase a figure of merit of a composite of the semiconductor material and the rare earth material relative to a figure of merit of the semiconductor material. The thermoelectric converter has a p-type thermoelectric material and a n-type thermoelectric material. At least one of the p-type thermoelectric material and the n-type thermoelectric material includes a rare earth material in at least one of the p-type thermoelectric material or the n-type thermoelectric material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2016
    Assignees: RESEARCH TRIANGLE INSTITUTE, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
    Inventors: Rama Venkatasubramanian, Bruce Allen Cook, Evgenii M. Levin, Joel Lee Harringa