Patents by Inventor Kent David Irwin

Kent David Irwin 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: 6239431
    Abstract: A system and method for using one or more localized weak-link structures, and damping on the electrical bias circuit, to improve the performance of superconducting transition-edge sensors (TES). The weak links generally consist of an area or areas having a reduction in cross-sectional geometry in an otherwise uniform bilayer TES applied to a substrate. The weak links control the dissipation of power in the sensor, making it quieter and making its electrical response smoother and less hysteretic. The TES response is also made smoother by implementing a damping circuit on the electrical output of the TES.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 24, 1998
    Date of Patent: May 29, 2001
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of Commerce
    Inventors: Gene Hilton, Kent David Irwin, John Martinis, David Wollman
  • Patent number: 5880467
    Abstract: Spectroscopic materials analysis wherein a sample under test is bombarded by electrons in a scanning electron microscope to produce an x-ray emission collected over a large solid angle by a polycapillary lens and focused onto the surface of a microcalorimeter detector. The x-ray lens is used to increase the effective collection area of the microcalorimeter detector used in an x-ray spectrometer. By increasing the collection angle, the time period for x-ray collection is reduced and the detector can be located farther from the x-ray source. The x-ray lens is effective over a broad energy range of x-rays, thus providing compatibility with spectroscopic analysis. The microcalorimeter can be calibrated to compensate for any variations in the transmission efficiency of the x-ray lens.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 1997
    Date of Patent: March 9, 1999
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of Commerce
    Inventors: John Matthew Martinis, Gene Charles Hilton, Kent David Irwin, David Anders Wollman, Robert Gregory Downing, Walter Maxwell Gibson