Patents by Inventor Eric W. McFarland

Eric W. McFarland 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).

  • Patent number: 6849460
    Abstract: Methods and apparatus for screening diverse arrays of materials using infrared imaging techniques are provided. Typically, each of the individual materials on the array will be screened or interrogated for the same material characteristic. Once screened, the individual materials may be ranked or otherwise compared relative to each other with respect to the material characteristic under investigation. According to one aspect, infrared imaging techniques are used to identify the active sites within an array of compounds by monitoring the temperature change resulting from a reaction. This same technique can also be used to quantify the stability of each new material within an array of compounds. According to another aspect, identification and characterization of condensed phase products is achieved, wherein library elements are activated by a heat source serially, or in parallel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 2002
    Date of Patent: February 1, 2005
    Assignee: Symyx Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Eric W. McFarland, William Archibald
  • Publication number: 20040267074
    Abstract: In a method of converting alkanes to their corresponding alcohols, ethers, olefins, and other hydrocarbons, a vessel comprises a hollow, unsegregated interior defined first, second, and third zones. In a first embodiment of the invention oxygen reacts with metal halide in the first zone to provide gaseous halide; halide reacts with the alkane in the second zone to form alkyl halide; and the alkyl halide reacts with metal oxide in the third zone to form a hydrocarbon corresponding to the original alkane. Metal halide from the third zone is transported through the vessel to the first zone and metal oxide from the first zone is recycled to the third zone. A second embodiment of the invention differs from the first embodiment in that metal oxide is transported through the vessel from the first zone to the third zone and metal halide is recycled from the third zone to the first zone.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 19, 2004
    Publication date: December 30, 2004
    Inventors: Philip Grosso, Jeffrey H. Sherman, Eric W. McFarland
  • Patent number: 6833921
    Abstract: Methods and apparatus for screening diverse arrays of materials are provided. In particular, techniques for rapidly characterizing compounds in arrays of materials in order to discover and/or optimize new materials with specific desired properties are provided. The substrate can be screened for materials having useful properties, and/or the resulting materials can be ranked, or otherwise compared, for relative performance with respect to useful properties or other characterizations. In particular, systems and methods are provided for screening a library of magnetic materials for their bulk magnetization, saturation magnetization, and coercivity by imaging their individual optical Kerr rotation, screening a library of dielectric materials for their dielectric coefficients by imaging their individual electro-optical rotation and screening a library of luminescent materials by imaging their individual luminescent properties under a variety of excitation conditions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 21, 2002
    Date of Patent: December 21, 2004
    Assignee: Symyx Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Eric W. McFarland, Earl Danielson, William Archibald
  • Publication number: 20040245594
    Abstract: Electron-hole production at a Schottky barrier has recently been observed experimentally as a result of chemical processes. This conversion of chemical energy to electronic energy may serve as a basic link between chemistry and electronics and offers the potential for generation of unique electronic signatures for chemical reactions and the creation of a new class of solide state chemical sensors. Detection of the following chemical species was established: hydrogen, deuterium, carbon monoxide, molecular oxygen. The detector (1b) consists of a Schottky diode between an Si layer and an ultrathin metal layer with zero force electrical contacts.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 14, 2004
    Publication date: December 9, 2004
    Applicant: Adrena, Inc.
    Inventors: Eric W. McFarland, Henry W. Weinberg, Hermann Nienhaus, Howard S. Bergh, Brian Gergen, Arunava Mujumdar
  • Publication number: 20040178468
    Abstract: Electron-hole production at a Schottky barrier has recently been observed experimentally as a result of chemical processes. This conversion of chemical energy to electronic energy may serve as a basic link between chemistry and electronics and offers the potential for generation of unique electronic signatures for chemical reactions and the creation of a new class of solide state chemical sensors. Detection of the following chemical species was established: hydrogen, deuterium, carbon monoxide, molecular oxygen. The detector (1b) consists of a Schottky diode between an Si layer and an ultrathin metal layer with zero force electrical contacts.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 2, 2003
    Publication date: September 16, 2004
    Applicant: Adrena, Inc,
    Inventors: Eric W. McFarland, Henry W. Weinberg, Hermann Nienhaus, Howard S. Bergh, Brian Gergen, Arunava Mujumdar
  • Publication number: 20040154657
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for solar energy production comprises a multi-layer solid-state structure including a photosensitive layer, a thin conductor, a charge separation layer, and a back ohmic conductor, wherein light absorption occurs in a photosensitive layer and the charge carriers produced thereby are transported through the thin conductor through the adjacent potential energy barrier. The open circuit voltage of the solar cell can be manipulated by choosing from among a wide selection of materials making up the thin conductor, the charge separation layer, and the back ohmic layer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 31, 2003
    Publication date: August 12, 2004
    Applicant: Adrena, Inc.
    Inventor: Eric W. McFarland
  • Patent number: 6774300
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for solar energy production comprises a multi-layer solid-state structure including a photosensitive layer, a thin conductor, a charge separation layer, and a back ohmic conductor, wherein light absorption occurs in a photosensitive layer and the charge carriers produced thereby are transported through the thin conductor through the adjacent potential energy barrier. The open circuit voltage of the solar cell can be manipulated by choosing from among a wide selection of materials making up the thin conductor, the charge separation layer, and the back ohmic layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 10, 2004
    Assignee: Adrena, Inc.
    Inventor: Eric W. McFarland
  • Publication number: 20040016646
    Abstract: An electrochemical method for generating both mesoporous metal and metal oxide films from dilute surfactant solutions by utilizing self assembly of surfactant-inorganic aggregates in the electric field of the solid-liquid interface at an electrode to specifically direct the morphology of the film. The surface of the working electrode serves as a solid-liquid interface in a plating solution containing surfactant and inorganic ions and salts.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 29, 2002
    Publication date: January 29, 2004
    Inventors: Galen D. Stucky, Kyoung-Shin Choi, Eric W. McFarland
  • Publication number: 20040006246
    Abstract: A reactant selected from the group consisting of alkanes, alkenes, alkynes, dienes, and aromatics is reacted with a halide selected from the group including chlorine, bromine, and iodine to form a first reaction product. The first reaction product is reacted with a solid oxidizer to form a product selected from the group including olefins, alcohols, ethers, and aldehydes, and spent oxidizer. The spent oxidizer is oxidized to form the original solid oxidizer and the second reactant which are recycled.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 19, 2003
    Publication date: January 8, 2004
    Inventors: Jeffrey H. Sherman, Eric W. McFarland, Michael J. Weiss, Ivan Marc Lorkovic, Leroy E. Laverman, Shouli Sun, Dieter J. Schaefer, Galen Stucky, Peter Ford
  • Patent number: 6541271
    Abstract: Methods and apparatus for screening diverse arrays of materials using infrared imaging techniques are provided. Typically, each of the individual materials on the array will be screened or interrogated for the same material characteristic. Once screened, the individual materials may be ranked or otherwise compared relative to each other with respect to the material characteristic under investigation. According to one aspect, infrared imaging techniques are used to identify the active sites within an array of compounds by monitoring the temperature change resulting from a reaction. This same technique can also be used to quantify the stability of each new material within an array of compounds. According to another aspect, identification and characterization of condensed phase products is achieved, wherein library elements are activated by a heat source serially, or in parallel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 7, 1997
    Date of Patent: April 1, 2003
    Assignee: Symyx Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Eric W. McFarland, William Archibald
  • Publication number: 20030007152
    Abstract: Methods and apparatus for screening diverse arrays of materials are provided. In particular, techniques for rapidly characterizing compounds in arrays of materials in order to discover and/or optimize new materials with specific desired properties are provided. The substrate can be screened for materials having useful properties, and/or the resulting materials can be ranked, or otherwise compared, for relative performance with respect to useful properties or other characterizations. In particular, systems and methods are provided for screening a library of magnetic materials for their bulk magnetization, saturation magnetization, and coercivity by imaging their individual optical Kerr rotation, screening a library of dielectric materials for their dielectric coefficients by imaging their individual electro-optical rotation and screening a library of luminescent materials by imaging their individual luminescent properties under a variety of excitation conditions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 21, 2002
    Publication date: January 9, 2003
    Applicant: Symyx Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Eric W. McFarland, Earl Danielson, William Archibald
  • Publication number: 20020197731
    Abstract: Methods and apparatus for screening diverse arrays of materials using infrared imaging techniques are provided. Typically, each of the individual materials on the array will be screened or interrogated for the same material characteristic. Once screened, the individual materials may be ranked or otherwise compared relative to each other with respect to the material characteristic under investigation. According to one aspect, infrared imaging techniques are used to identify the active sites within an array of compounds by monitoring the temperature change resulting from a reaction. This same technique can also be used to quantify the stability of each new material within an array of compounds. According to another aspect, identification and characterization of condensed phase products is achieved, wherein library elements are activated by a heat source serially, or in parallel.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 25, 2002
    Publication date: December 26, 2002
    Applicant: Symyx Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Eric W. McFarland, William Archibald
  • Patent number: 6440745
    Abstract: The present invention relates, inter alia, to methodologies for the synthesis, screening and characterization of organometallic compounds and catalysts (e.g., homogeneous catalysts). The methods of the present invention provide for the combinatorial synthesis, screening and characterization of libraries of supported and unsupported organometallic compounds and catalysts (e.g., homogeneous catalysts). The methods of the present invention can be applied to the preparation and screening of large numbers of organometallic compounds which can be used not only as catalysts (e.g., homogeneous catalysts), but also as additives and therapeutic agents.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 21, 1999
    Date of Patent: August 27, 2002
    Assignee: Symyx Technologies
    Inventors: W. Henry Weinberg, Eric W. McFarland, Isy Goldwasser, Thomas Boussie, Howard Turner, Johannes A. M. van Beek, Vince Murphy, Tim Powers
  • Patent number: 6441901
    Abstract: Methods and apparatus for screening diverse arrays of materials are provided. In particular, techniques for rapidly characterizing compounds in arrays of materials in order to discover and/or optimize new materials with specific desired properties are provided. The substrate can be screened for materials having useful properties, and/or the resulting materials can be ranked, or otherwise compared, for relative performance with respect to useful properties or other characterizations. In particular, systems and methods are provided for screening a library of magnetic materials for their bulk magnetization, saturation magnetization, and coercivity by imaging their individual optical Kerr rotation, screening a library of dielectric materials for their dielectric coefficients by imaging their individual electro-optical rotation and screening a library of luminescent materials by imaging their individual luminescent properties under a variety of excitation conditions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 27, 2002
    Assignee: Symyx Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Eric W. McFarland, Earl Danielson, William Archibald
  • Patent number: 6401519
    Abstract: Methods and apparatus for screening diverse arrays of materials are provided. In one aspect, systems and methods are provided for imaging a library of materials using ultrasonic imaging techniques. In another aspect, systems and methods are provided for generating acoustic waves in a tank filled with a coupling liquid to form a disturbance that is representative of a library of materials. In another aspect of the invention, a mechanical resonator is used to evaluate various properties (e.g., molecular weight, viscosity, specific weight, elasticity, dielectric constant, conductivity, etc.) of the individual liquid elements of a library of materials.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 2000
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2002
    Assignee: Symyx Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Eric W. McFarland, Leonid Matsiev
  • Patent number: 6373570
    Abstract: Methods and apparatus for screening diverse arrays of materials are provided. In particular, techniques for rapidly characterizing compounds in arrays of materials in order to discover and/or optimize new materials with specific desired properties are provided. The substrate can be screened for materials having useful properties, and/or the resulting materials can be ranked, or otherwise compared, for relative performance with respect to useful properties or other characterizations. In particular, systems and methods are provided for screening a library of magnetic materials for their bulk magnetization, saturation magnetization, and coercivity by imaging their individual optical Kerr rotation, screening a library of dielectric materials for their dielectric coefficients by imaging their individual electro-optical rotation and screening a library of luminescent materials by imaging their individual luminescent properties under a variety of excitation conditions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 29, 1999
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2002
    Assignee: Symyx Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Eric W. McFarland, Earl Danielson, William Archibald
  • Publication number: 20010033375
    Abstract: Methods and apparatus for screening diverse arrays of materials are provided. In particular, techniques for rapidly characterizing compounds in arrays of materials in order to discover and/or optimize new materials with specific desired properties are provided. The substrate can be screened for materials having useful properties, and/or the resulting materials can be ranked, or otherwise compared, for relative performance with respect to useful properties or other characterizations. In particular, systems and methods are provided for screening a library of magnetic materials for their bulk magnetization, saturation magnetization, and coercivity by imaging their individual optical Kerr rotation, screening a library of dielectric materials for their dielectric coefficients by imaging their individual electro-optical rotation and screening a library of luminescent materials by imaging their individual luminescent properties under a variety of excitation conditions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 5, 2001
    Publication date: October 25, 2001
    Applicant: Symyx Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Eric W. McFarland, Earl Danielson, William Archibald
  • Patent number: 6182499
    Abstract: Methods and apparatus for screening diverse arrays of materials are provided. In one aspect, systems and methods are provided for imaging a library of materials using ultrasonic imaging techniques. The system includes one or more devices for exciting an element of the library such that acoustic waves are propagated through, and from, the element. The acoustic waves propagated from the element are detected and processed to yield a visual image of the library element. The acoustic wave data can also be processed to obtain information about the elastic properties of the library element. In another aspect, systems and methods are provided for generating acoustic waves in a tank filled with a coupling liquid. The library of materials is then placed in the tank and the surface of the coupling liquid is scanned with a laser beam. The structure of the liquid surface disturbed by the acoustic wave is recorded, the recorded disturbance being representative of the physical structure of the library.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 1997
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2001
    Assignee: Symyx Technologies
    Inventors: Eric W. McFarland, Leonid Matsiev
  • Patent number: 6034775
    Abstract: Methods and apparatus for screening diverse arrays of materials are provided. In particular, techniques for rapidly characterizing compounds in arrays of materials in order to discover and/or optimize new materials with specific desired properties are provided. The substrate can be screened for materials having useful properties, and/or the resulting materials can be ranked, or otherwise compared, for relative performance with respect to useful properties or other characterizations. In particular, systems and methods are provided for screening a library of magnetic materials for their bulk magnetization, saturation magnetization, and coercivity by imaging their individual optical Kerr rotation, screening a library of dielectric materials for their dielectric coefficients by imaging their individual electro-optical rotation and screening a library of luminescent materials by imaging their individual luminescent properties under a variety of excitation conditions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 1997
    Date of Patent: March 7, 2000
    Assignee: Symyx Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Eric W. McFarland, Earl Danielson, William Archibald
  • Patent number: 5959297
    Abstract: Methods and apparatus for screening diverse arrays of materials are provided. Techniques are provided for rapidly characterizing compounds in combinatorial arrays of materials for discovering and/or optimizing new materials with specific desired properties. A scanning mass spectrometer is used which includes an ionization chamber and a collector that outputs an electrical signal responsive to the quantity of gas ions contacting the collector surface. A conduit system selectively withdraws samples from the array of materials, passing the samples into the ionization chamber. In a specific embodiment, reactants are passed through the conduit system to the selected regions of interest on the substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 1997
    Date of Patent: September 28, 1999
    Assignee: Symyx Technologies
    Inventors: W. Henry Weinberg, Eric W. McFarland, Peijun Cong, Shenheng Guan