Patents Examined by Harry D. Wilkins, III
  • Patent number: 11859300
    Abstract: Methods and electroplating systems for controlling plating electrolyte concentration on an electrochemical plating apparatus for substrates are disclosed. A method involves: (a) providing an electroplating solution to an electroplating system; (b) electroplating the metal onto the substrate while the substrate is held in a cathode chamber of an electroplating cell of electroplating system; (c) supplying the make-up solution to the electroplating system via a make-up solution inlet; and (d) supplying the secondary electroplating solution to the electroplating system via a secondary electroplating solution inlet. The secondary electroplating solution includes some or all components of the electroplating solution. At least one component of the secondary electroplating solution has a concentration that significantly deviates from its target concentration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2024
    Assignee: Lam Research Corporation
    Inventors: Zhian He, Shantinath Ghongadi, Quan Ma, Hyungjun Hur, Cian Sweeney, Quang Nguyen, Rezaul Karim, Jingbin Feng
  • Patent number: 11851779
    Abstract: Electrolytic cells for electrolysis of water, the electrolytic cells including two sub-cells, one containing the anode, the other the cathode. The electrolytic cells are configured so that at least the hydrogen formed due to electrolysis is passed through a deflection tube and into an electrolyte outside of the electrolytic sub-cell. This configuration serves as a security measure to prevent a flashback of a combustion reaction, and makes the presence of a separate bubbler superfluous.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2023
    Assignee: GLOCK ÖKOENERGIE GMBH
    Inventor: Gaston Glock
  • Patent number: 11851774
    Abstract: A carbon dioxide electrolytic device according to an embodiment includes: an electrolysis cell including a reduction electrode, an oxidation electrode, a gas flow path supplying gas containing CO2 to the reduction electrode, a liquid flow path supplying an electrolytic solution containing water to the oxidation electrode, and a diaphragm separating the reduction electrode from the oxidation electrode; a first supply path connected to the gas flow path; a first discharge path connected to the gas flow path; a first moisture content detecting unit installed in the first discharge path to detect a moisture content in the gas flowing in the first discharge path; a moisture content adjusting unit configured to adjust a moisture content supplied to the reduction electrode; and a control unit configured to control the moisture content adjusting unit based on a detection signal of the first moisture content detecting unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2023
    Assignee: KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOSHIBA
    Inventors: Ryota Kitagawa, Yusuke Kofuji, Akihiko Ono, Yuki Kudo, Jun Tamura, Satoshi Mikoshiba
  • Patent number: 11846032
    Abstract: Catalyst systems employing inexpensive and readily-available protic co-catalysts to increase a proton reduction rate in a hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) are described herein. The protic co-catalysts function to increase the rate without being consumed in the process of water splitting to hydrogen and oxygen. They may simultaneously serve to stabilize the pH of the water and be the electrolyte to carry the current for the electrolytic splitting of water. The protic co-catalysts also decrease the overpotential energy requirement for the process of water splitting. These protic co-catalysts can be used with both heterogeneous and homogenous catalysts, as well as assist photocatalysis and other processes for the reduction of protons.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 19, 2023
    Assignee: ARIZONA BOARD OF REGENTS ON BEHALF OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
    Inventors: Dennis Lichtenberger, Richard S. Glass, Dong-Chul Pyun, William Brezinski, Kayla Clary, Metin Karayilan
  • Patent number: 11840589
    Abstract: To provide a perfluoropolymer capable of producing an electrolyte membrane excellent in mechanical strength in high temperature environments; as well as a liquid composition, polymer electrolyte membrane, membrane electrode assembly and polymer electrolyte water electrolyzer, obtainable by using the perfluoropolymer. The perfluoropolymer of the present invention contains perfluoromonomer units, does not substantially contain units having a halogen atom other than a fluorine atom, does not substantially contain units having a ring structure, and has acid-type sulfonic acid groups, wherein the perfluoromonomer units contain at least one type of units A selected from the group consisting of perfluorovinyl ether units and perfluoroallyl ether units; the ion exchange capacity is from 0.9 to 1.4 milliequivalent/gram dry resin; and the storage modulus at 120° C. is at least 100 MPa.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2023
    Assignee: AGC Inc.
    Inventors: Takeshi Hirai, Daisuke Jomuta, Chikaya Tamitsuji
  • Patent number: 11834749
    Abstract: A process for the separation of electrolyte from the carbon in a solid carbon/electrolyte cathode product formed at the cathode during molten carbonate electrolysis. The processes allows for easy separation of the solid carbon product from the electrolyte without any observed detrimental effect on the structure and/or stability of the resulting solid carbon nanomaterial.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 25, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2023
    Assignee: C2CNT LLC
    Inventors: Stuart Licht, Gad Licht
  • Patent number: 11821096
    Abstract: A device and method for preparing high-purity titanium powder by continuous electrolysis are provided. The method includes: electrolyzing a titanium-containing conductive ceramic anode and a rotatable cathode in a fused salt electrolytic tank; continuously transferring titanium powder deposited on a surface of the cathode by the rotatable cathode to a position above the fused salt; scraping the titanium powder by a discharging scraper, and collecting; filtering the titanium powder, and recovering the fused salt; cooling separated titanium powder, washing with deoxygenated and deionized water, and vacuum-drying to obtain final titanium powder. The device includes a fused salt electrolysis mechanism, a continuous titanium powder collection mechanism, a filtering mechanism, a washing mechanism, and a vacuum-drying mechanism.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2023
    Assignee: ZHEJIANG HAIHONG HOLDING GROUP CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Haixian Chen, Jiapei Cao
  • Patent number: 11821094
    Abstract: A process for the separation of electrolyte from the carbon in a solid carbon/electrolyte cathode product formed at the cathode during molten carbonate electrolysis. The processes allows for easy separation of the solid carbon product from the electrolyte without any observed detrimental effect on the structure and/or stability of the resulting solid carbon nanomaterial.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 2022
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2023
    Assignee: C2CNT LLC
    Inventors: Stuart Licht, Gad Licht
  • Patent number: 11814740
    Abstract: An electrolyzer has an electrolytic cell with a membrane that surrounds an interior channel. The electrolytic cell also has a first electrode positioned in the interior channel such that the membrane surrounds the first electrode. The electrolytic cell also includes a second electrode positioned such that the membrane is located between the first electrode and the second electrode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 14, 2023
    Assignee: H2U Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: Nathan Saul Lewis
  • Patent number: 11799110
    Abstract: Provided herein are anode and/or cathode pan assemblies comprising unique manifold, outlet tube, and/or baffle plate configurations; electrochemical cell and/or electrolyzer containing the anode and/or the cathode pan assemblies; and methods to use and manufacture the same.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 18, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2023
    Assignee: Verdagy, Inc.
    Inventors: Thomas H. McWaid, Ryan J. Gilliam
  • Patent number: 11795072
    Abstract: An electrolyzed water generator includes anode, cathode, and cation exchange membrane provided between anode and cathode so as to be in contact with at least one of anode and cathode. Gaps in which a flow of water occurs are present between cation exchange membrane and at least one of anode and cathode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 15, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2023
    Assignee: PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Kenichiro Inagaki, Shunsuke Mori, Minoru Nagata, Mami Kuroda, Tetsuya Maekawa
  • Patent number: 11788195
    Abstract: A carbon dioxide reduction device of the present invention is a carbon dioxide reduction device comprising a first electrode; at least any one of an electrolyte solution and an ion conducting membrane; and a second electrode, wherein the first electrode is a porous electrode having a porous carbon, and the porous carbon has at least one type of metal-nonmetal element bond represented by M-R, in which M represents a metal element of Groups 4 to 15, and R represents a nonmetal element of Groups 14 to 16.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2023
    Assignee: SEKISUI CHEMICAL CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Naohiro Fujinuma
  • Patent number: 11781231
    Abstract: A carbon dioxide electrolytic device, includes: an electrolysis cell including an anode to oxidize water and thus form oxygen, an anode flow path facing the anode, a cathode to reduce carbon dioxide and thus form a carbon compound, a cathode flow path facing the cathode, and a separator between the anode and the cathode; a cooling flow path provided opposite to the anode flow path or the cathode flow path and connected in parallel to the anode flow path; an anode inflow path connecting an inlet of the anode flow path, an inlet of the cooling flow path, and an outlet of a liquid tank to store a liquid containing water; an anode outflow path connecting an outlet of the anode flow path, an outlet of the cooling flow path, and an inlet of the liquid tank; and a cooler to cool the anode outflow path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 2, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2023
    Assignee: KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOSHIBA
    Inventors: Akihiko Ono, Yuki Kudo, Yusuke Kofuji, Asahi Motoshige, Ryota Kitagawa, Masakazu Yamagiwa, Satoshi Mikoshiba
  • Patent number: 11781995
    Abstract: A semiconductor apparatus includes a transfer chamber, an annealing station, a robot arm, an edge detector and a trigger device. The transfer chamber is configured to interface with an electroplating apparatus. The robot arm is arranged to transfer a wafer from the transfer chamber to the annealing station. The edge detector, disposed over a predetermined location between the transfer chamber and the annealing station, comprises a first charge-coupled device (CCD) sensor and a second CCD sensor. When the robot arm is carrying the wafer to pass through the predetermined location, the first CCD sensor and the second CCD sensor are located over a first portion and a second portion of the edge bevel removal area respectively, and the trigger device is configured to activate the first CCD sensor and the second CCD sensor to capture an image of the first portion and an image of the second portion respectively.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2023
    Assignee: TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY LTD.
    Inventors: Chao-Tung Wu, Kuo-Chung Yu, Chung-Hao Hu, Sheng-Ping Weng
  • Patent number: 11767604
    Abstract: Methods and systems for producing are disclosed. A method for producing iron, for example, comprises: providing an iron-containing ore to a dissolution subsystem comprising a first electrochemical cell; wherein the first anolyte has a different composition than the first catholyte; dissolving at least a portion of the iron-containing ore using an acid to form an acidic iron-salt solution having dissolved first Fe3+ ions; providing at least a portion of the acidic iron-salt solution to the first cathodic chamber; first electrochemically reducing said first Fe3+ ions in the first catholyte to form Fe2+ ions; transferring the formed Fe2+ ions from the dissolution subsystem to an iron-plating subsystem having a second electrochemical cell; second electrochemically reducing a first portion of the transferred formed Fe2+ ions to Fe metal at a second cathode of the second electrochemical cell; and removing the Fe metal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 9, 2022
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2023
    Assignee: ELECTRASTEEL, INC.
    Inventors: Ai Quoc Pham, Sandeep Nijhawan, Adolfredo Alvarez, Colleen Wallace, Steven Fatur
  • Patent number: 11767598
    Abstract: An electrochemical cell has a membrane located between two flow field plates. On a first side of the membrane, there is a porous support surrounded by a seal between the membrane and the flow field plate. There is a gap between the porous support and the seal at the surface of the membrane. On a second side of the membrane, there is a seal between the membrane and the flow field plate located inside of the gap in plan view. The electrochemical cell is useful, for example, in high pressure or differential pressure electrolysis in which the second side of the membrane will be consistently exposed to a higher pressure than the first side of the membrane.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 24, 2022
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2023
    Assignee: HYDROGENICS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Rami Michel Abouatallah, Rainey Yu Wang, Nathaniel Ian Joos
  • Patent number: 11761103
    Abstract: An electrolyser operates within an energy system, for example to provide grid services, energy storage or fuel, or to produce hydrogen from electricity produced from renewable resources. The electrolyser may be configured to operate at frequently or quickly varying rates of electricity consumption or to operate at a specified power consumption.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2023
    Assignee: HYDROGENICS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Nathaniel Ian Joos, Joseph Cargnelli
  • Patent number: 11760654
    Abstract: Described are methods for the recovery of uranium from uranium hexafluoride dissolved directly into ionic liquids.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 2022
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2023
    Assignee: THE BOARD OF REGENTS OF THE NEVADA SYSTEM OF HIGHER EDUCATION ON BEHALF OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA, LAS VEGAS
    Inventors: David W. Hatchett, Kenneth R. Czerwinski, Katherine Luebke, Cassara Higgins
  • Patent number: 11761102
    Abstract: A CaTiO3—TiO2 composite electrode and method of making is described. The composite electrode comprises a substrate with an average 2-12 ?m thick layer of CaTiO3—TiO2 composite particles having average diameters of 0.2-2.2 ?m. The method of making the composite electrode involves contacting the substrate with an aerosol comprising a solvent, a calcium complex, and a titanium complex. The CaTiO3—TiO2 composite electrode is capable of being used in a photoelectrochemical cell for water splitting.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 6, 2022
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2023
    Assignee: KING FAHD UNIVERSITY OF PETROLEUM AND MINERALS
    Inventors: Muhammad Ali Ehsan, Abdul Rehman
  • Patent number: 11761101
    Abstract: A CaTiO3—TiO2 composite electrode and method of making is described. The composite electrode comprises a substrate with an average 2-12 ?m thick layer of CaTiO3—TiO2 composite particles having average diameters of 0.2-2.2 ?m. The method of making the composite electrode involves contacting the substrate with an aerosol comprising a solvent, a calcium complex, and a titanium complex. The CaTiO3—TiO2 composite electrode is capable of being used in a photoelectrochemical cell for water splitting.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 6, 2022
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2023
    Assignee: KING FAHD UNIVERSITY OF PETROLEUM AND MINERALS
    Inventors: Muhammad Ali Ehsan, Abdul Rehman