Patents Examined by Joel G Horning
  • Patent number: 11975561
    Abstract: A thermal transfer and process for producing it that provides a fully-digital printed heat transfer capable of little to no process changeover between different graphics. Specifically, the method comprises printing a digital image onto a treated adhesive substrate, applying the image side to a carrier substrate, then digitally cutting and removing substrate not containing graphic elements through a combination of kiss-and-through cutting to produce a high stretch, multi-color photographic quality print transfers for the apparel and soft goods industry.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2024
    Assignee: Lion Brothers Company, Inc.
    Inventors: Owen McGovern, Gillian Ross, Stephen Mynott, Paul Weedlun
  • Patent number: 11920239
    Abstract: Certain embodiments herein relate to an apparatus used for remote plasma processing. In various embodiments, the apparatus includes a reaction chamber that is conditioned by forming a low recombination material coating on interior chamber surfaces. The low recombination material helps minimize the degree of radical recombination that occurs when the reaction chamber is used to process substrates. During processing on substrates, the low recombination material may become covered by relatively higher recombination material (e.g., as a byproduct of the substrate processing), which results in a decrease in the amount of radicals available to process the substrate over time. The low recombination material coating may be reconditioned through exposure to an oxidizing plasma, which acts to reform the low recombination material coating. The reconditioning process may occur periodically as additional processing occurs on substrates.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2024
    Assignee: Lam Research Corporation
    Inventors: Bhadri N. Varadarajan, Bo Gong, Rachel E. Batzer, Huatan Qiu, Bart J. Van Schravendijk, Geoffrey Hohn
  • Patent number: 11904532
    Abstract: A system and method for lifting substrate sheets off of a stack of porous sheets one at a time, even though the sheets tend to stick together. A felt tamp is lowered onto the stack of sheets, and as the tamp is raised, a set of edge flickers create a downward force on the corners of the top sheet. This causes the edges of the top sheet to bend downward slightly just enough to pry the second sheet loose from the top sheet. The tamp can then be further raised with only the top sheet adhering to the felt, and the lifted sheet can be deposited at the next station in the process. Periodically, a brush is used to renew the surface of the felt to prevent matting of the felt fibers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 23, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2024
    Assignee: Impossible Objects, Inc.
    Inventors: Robert Swartz, James Brough, Eugene Gore
  • Patent number: 11890893
    Abstract: A thermal transfer and process for producing it that provides a fully-digital printed heat transfer capable of little to no process changeover between different graphics. Specifically, the method comprises printing a digital image onto a treated adhesive substrate, applying the image side to a carrier substrate, then digitally cutting and removing substrate not containing graphic elements photographic quality, durable print transfers for the apparel and soft goods industry.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2024
    Assignee: Lion Brothers Company, Inc.
    Inventors: Gillian Ross, Owen McGovern, Paul Weedlun, Stephen Mynott
  • Patent number: 11877631
    Abstract: A method to permanently mark an item of plated jewelry involves creating a laminate of two metals, and upper layer typically formed of a more precious metal such as gold, platinum, and palladium that do not readily oxidize, laminated onto the surface of a less precious metal, such as silver, which is oxidized to create a dark color (e.g. black). A laser is used to create characters and/or designs in the upper layer by vaporizing portions to effectively remove those portions. This exposes the upper surface of the less precious metal that does become oxidized. An oxidizer, such as liquid sulfur, is used to blacken the silver, typically a dark gray. This allows an easy and inexpensive method of archiving information on jewelry bearing or supporting a gem that describes the supported gem rendering the gem more valuable collectible and traceable.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 23, 2024
    Inventor: Yianni Melas
  • Patent number: 11866817
    Abstract: An evaporation system comprises an evaporation chamber having an interior enclosed by one or more chamber walls; an evaporation source comprising (i) a source body for containing a feedstock material, and (ii) an evaporation port fluidly coupling the source body with an interior of the evaporation chamber; an insulation material; and a computer-based controller for configuring the insulation material in (i) a first configuration in which the insulation material is disposed snugly around the source body and (ii) a second configuration in which at least a portion of the insulation material is spaced away from the source body and at least a second portion of the insulation material is disposed snugly around the source body; wherein the insulation material does not cover an opening of the evaporation port in the first configuration and the second configuration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 6, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2024
    Assignee: First Solar, Inc.
    Inventors: Markus Eberhard Beck, Ulrich Alexander Bonne
  • Patent number: 11851378
    Abstract: A method of preparing a woven fabric material for use in a ceramic matrix composite includes passing a desized woven fabric tape having a first inter-filament spacing through a dispersal module configured to transform the desized woven fabric tape into a dispersed woven fabric tape having a second inter-filament spacing greater than the first inter-filament spacing. The dispersal module includes a first charging element with a charged surface and disposed to apply an electric charge to the desized woven fabric tape. The method further includes applying a polymer binder to the dispersed woven fabric tape to create a stabilized woven fabric tape having the second inter-filament spacing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 14, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2023
    Assignee: RTX Corporation
    Inventors: Brendan M. Lenz, Sarah A. Frith, Daniel L. Becerra, Olivier H. Sudre
  • Patent number: 11802336
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to an apparatus for fluidised-bed chemical vapour deposition from a gaseous phase allowing the temperature of the fluidised bed to be stabilised during the deposition and also to an associated method for its implementation, the apparatus being characterised in that it comprises a porous thermal insulator present in an inlet zone and configured to be passed through by the gaseous phase, said porous thermal insulator having an effective thermal conductivity at 20° C. less than or equal to 3.5 W·m-1·K-1.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 21, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2023
    Assignees: SAFRAN CERAMIC, CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE, UNIVERSITE DE BORDEAUX
    Inventors: Amine El Mansouri, Nathalie Dominique Bertrand, Sébastien Couthures, Alain Jean-Michel Guette
  • Patent number: 11761086
    Abstract: Cobalt precursors are described, having application for vapor deposition of cobalt on substrates, such as in atomic layer deposition (ALD) and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) processes for forming interconnects, capping structures, and bulk cobalt conductors, in the manufacture of integrated circuitry and thin film products.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2023
    Assignee: ENTEGRIS, INC.
    Inventors: Thomas H. Baum, Scott L. Battle, John M. Cleary, David W. Peters, Philip S.H. Chen
  • Patent number: 11739067
    Abstract: Superhydrophobic electrothermal epoxy composites, their preparation and a self-healing method are disclosed. 1,4,5-oxadithiepane-2,7-dione and methylhexahydrophthalic anhydride were mixed and cured with epoxides to get self-healable epoxy resins; carbon nanotube/self-healable epoxy resin prepolymers were coated on self-healable epoxy resins and cured to get electrothermal epoxy composites; modified superhydrophobic copper powders were adhered on electrothermal epoxy composites and cured to get a kind of superhydrophobic electrothermal epoxy composites. The thermal resistance of superhydrophobic electrothermal epoxy composites is superior to existed technical solutions and they can simultaneously repair cracking and delamination and the healed samples still exhibit excellent superhydrophobicity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2023
    Assignee: SOOCHOW UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: Guozheng Liang, Youhao Zhang, Aijuan Gu, Li Yuan
  • Patent number: 11735412
    Abstract: There is provided a technique which includes: forming a first film containing silicon, oxygen, carbon and nitrogen on a substrate by performing a first cycle a predetermined number of times, the first cycle including non-simultaneously performing: forming a first layer containing silicon, oxygen, carbon and nitrogen by simultaneously supplying first aminosilane and an oxidant to the substrate; and performing a first modifying process to the first layer under a first temperature; and performing a second modifying process to the first film under a second temperature that is higher than the first temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2023
    Assignee: KOKUSAI ELECTRIC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Atsushi Sano, Kenji Kameda, Yushin Takasawa
  • Patent number: 11732352
    Abstract: Hydrogen free (low-H) silicon dioxide layers are disclosed. Some embodiments provide methods for forming low-H layers using hydrogen-free silicon precursors and hydrogen-free oxygen sources. Some embodiments provide methods for tuning the stress profile of low-H silicon dioxide films. Further, some embodiments of the disclosure provide oxide-nitride stacks which exhibit reduced stack bow after anneal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 11, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2023
    Assignee: APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.
    Inventors: Zeqing Shen, Bo Qi, Abhijit Basu Mallick, Nitin K. Ingle
  • Patent number: 11724232
    Abstract: A method providing direct access to porous three-dimensionally (3D) continuous polymer network structures and shapes by combining BCP-resol co-assembly with CO2 laser-induced transient heating. The CO2 laser source transiently heats the BCP-directed resol hybrid films to high temperatures at the beam position, inducing locally controlled resol thermopolymerization and BCP decomposition in ambient conditions. This enables shaping of BCP-directed porous resin structures with tunable 3D interconnected pores in a single process. Pore size can be varied from 10 nm to about 600 nm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2023
    Assignee: CORNELL UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: Ulrich B. Wiesner, Michael O. Thompson, Kwan Wee Tan, Byungki Jung
  • Patent number: 11718910
    Abstract: A method of pre-coating an inner surface of a chamber, which includes a surface of a substrate-supporting support base installed in an internal space in the chamber, includes: forming a first film on the inner surface by supplying a first gas; forming a second film on the first film by supplying a second gas; and forming a third film on the second film by supplying a third gas, wherein a flow rate ratio of a hydrogen-containing gas to a metal source gas in the first gas is set to be higher than flow rate ratios of the hydrogen-containing gas to the metal source gas in the second gas and the third gas, and wherein the flow rate of the metal source gas in the first gas is set to be lower than the flow rates of the metal source gas in the second gas and the third gas.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 11, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2023
    Assignee: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED
    Inventors: Takeshi Itatani, Hideaki Yamasaki
  • Patent number: 11714071
    Abstract: Provided is a method of inspecting a growth quality of a graphene layer of a graphene-grown copper foil obtained by growing the graphene layer on a copper foil layer by chemical vapor deposition (CVD), the method including reacting oxygen or water molecules with the copper foil layer via a defect portion of the graphene layer, partitioning an entire region of the graphene-grown copper foil into partial regions, sequentially obtaining images of the partial regions, detecting, with respect to each of the images of the partial regions, an oxidized region where the copper foil layer is oxidized, and setting the oxidized region as a graphene defect region, and obtaining a ratio of an area of the graphene defect region to an entire area of each of the images of the partial regions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2023
    Assignee: Versarien PLC
    Inventors: Jin Sung Park, Jin Ho Jang
  • Patent number: 11702756
    Abstract: A synthetic methodology for robust, nanostructured films of cobalt oxide over metal evaporated gold or similar material layer of, e.g., 50 nm, directly onto glass or other substrates via aerosol assisted chemical vapor deposition (AACVD). This approach allows film growth rates in the range of, e.g., 0.8 nm/s, using a commercially available precursor, which is ˜10-fold the rate of electrochemical synthetic routes. Thus, 250 nm thick cobalt oxide films may be generated in only 5 minutes of deposition time. The water oxidation reaction for such films may start at ˜0.6 V vs Ag/AgCl with current density of 10 mA/cm2 and is achieved at ˜0.75 V corresponding to an overpotential of 484 mV. This current density is further increased to 60 mA/cm2 at ˜1.5 V (vs Ag/AgCl). Electrochemically active surface area (ECSA) calculations indicate that the synergy between a Au-film, acting as electron sink, and the cobalt oxide film(s), acting as catalytic layer(s), are more pronounced than the surface area effects.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2023
    Assignee: King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals
    Inventors: Muhammad Ali Ehsan, Md. Abdul Aziz, Abbas Saeed Hakeem
  • Patent number: 11702739
    Abstract: A film deposition method uses a film deposition apparatus including a source gas supply part and a cleaning gas supply part. In the method, a source gas is adsorbed on a substrate by supplying the source gas from the source gas supply part without supplying a purge gas into the cleaning gas supply part. A reaction product is deposited on the substrate by supplying a reaction gas reactable with the source gas to the substrate on which the source gas is adsorbed without supplying the purge gas into the cleaning gas supply part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2023
    Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventors: Hiroki Miura, Masato Koakutsu
  • Patent number: 11699614
    Abstract: A film deposition method includes maintaining an inside of a chamber to have a predetermined pressure, cooling a stage, on which the object to be processed mounts, to have an ultralow temperature of ?20° C., and mounting the object to be processed on the stage, supplying a gas including a low vapor pressure material gas of a low vapor pressure material into the inside of the chamber, and generating plasma from the supplied gas including the gas of the low vapor pressure material, and causing a precursor generated from the low vapor pressure material by the plasma to be deposited on a recess part of the object to be processed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 11, 2023
    Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventors: Michiko Nakaya, Masanobu Honda
  • Patent number: 11691341
    Abstract: A manipulator device such as a robot arm that is capable of increasing manufacturing throughput for additively manufactured parts, and allows for the manipulation of parts that would be difficult or impossible for a human to move is described. The manipulator can grasp various permanent or temporary additively manufactured manipulation points on a part to enable repositioning or maneuvering of the part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 4, 2023
    Assignee: Seurat Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: James A. DeMuth, Erik Toomre, Francis L. Leard, Kourosh Kamshad, Heiner Fees, Eugene Berdichevsky
  • Patent number: 11692271
    Abstract: A method includes coating, via chemical vapor deposition, electronics disposed on a printed circuit board (PCB) with an electrical insulation coating of between one micron to 25 microns. The method further include depositing, on the electrical insulation coating, a metallic nano-layer comprising a porous metallic nano-structure. The method further includes, after the coating and the depositing, immersing the PCB in a water-based fluid to cool the electronics while the electronics are powered on.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 2, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 4, 2023
    Assignee: The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois
    Inventors: Nenad Miljkovic, Thomas Foulkes, Patrick Birbarah, Tarek Gebrael, Andrew Stillwell, Robert Pilawa-Podgurski