Patents by Inventor Matthew Grayson

Matthew Grayson 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: 12441627
    Abstract: A liquid filtration device that includes a cup assembly configured to carry an unfiltered liquid. The cup assembly includes a cup body for receiving the unfiltered liquid and a cup base configured to be removably coupled with the bottom end of the cup body. The liquid filtration device further includes a bottle assembly configured to be plunged into the top of the cup assembly in a plunging direction and seated within the cup assembly when fully plunged. The bottle assembly includes a port configured to be coupled with a filter cartridge and communicate the unfiltered liquid carried by the cup assembly through the filter cartridge to an interior of the bottle assembly. To extract the bottle assembly from the cup assembly, the cup base is uncoupled from the cup body and the bottle assembly is moved in the plunging direction past the bottom end of the cup body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2025
    Date of Patent: October 14, 2025
    Inventor: Matthew Grayson
  • Patent number: 11823974
    Abstract: Systems and/or methods can provide for solid-state refrigeration below 1 degree Kelvin. By applying a simple sequence of ac electrical signals to a gated semiconductor device, electrons are cooled in a refrigeration sequence that, in turn, provides cooling directly to the heat load of interest. Electrons in a single subband of a semiconductor quantum well are expanded adiabatically into several subbands, resulting in a temperature drop. Repeated application of this cycle at MHz-GHz frequencies results in a significant cooling power. The anticipated cooling powers can compete with today's standard cryogenic system, the dilution refrigerator, which represents the market standard for achieving cryogenic temperatures.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 1, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2023
    Assignee: Northwestern University
    Inventor: Matthew Grayson
  • Patent number: 11525847
    Abstract: Systems and methods include an electrical switch that establishes a first electrical conducting path between terminals of an electrical measurement apparatus through one or more electrical leads and an electrically-conductive sample in a first state, and a second electrical conducting path between the terminals through the one or more electrical leads while bypassing the sample in a second state. A voltage VS+L is measured across all of the sample and the one or more electrical leads in the first state, while a voltage VL is measured across the one or more electrical leads while bypassing the sample in the second state. Calculations according to the equation VS=VS+L?VL are performed to determine a precision DC voltage measurement of a voltage across the sample VS in the absence of Seebeck voltage offsets contributed by the one or more electrical leads.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2022
    Assignee: NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: Matthew Grayson, Chulin Wang, Juncen Li, William H. Reinhardt
  • Patent number: 11417817
    Abstract: Woven flexible thermoelectric fabrics are provided. The fabric is a woven material that includes a series of longitudinal threads interwoven with a series of transverse threads. Within the longitudinal series, the threads have a repeating thread pattern of an n-type thermoelectric thread, a p-type thermoelectric thread, and an insulating thread. Within the transverse series, the threads have a repeating thread pattern of a first double-sided thread with conducting side down and insulating side up, a second double-sided thread with conducting side down and insulating side up, and a third double-sided thread with conducting side up and insulating side down.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 7, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2022
    Assignee: Northwestern University
    Inventors: Matthew Grayson, Ramille Shah, Jun Peng, Adam Jakus, Nicholas Geisendorfer
  • Publication number: 20220208644
    Abstract: Systems and/or methods can provide for solid-state refrigeration below 1 degree Kelvin. By applying a simple sequence of ac electrical signals to a gated semiconductor device, electrons are cooled in a refrigeration sequence that, in turn, provides cooling directly to the heat load of interest. Electrons in a single subband of a semiconductor quantum well are expanded adiabatically into several subbands, resulting in a temperature drop. Repeated application of this cycle at MHz-GHz frequencies results in a significant cooling power. The anticipated cooling powers can compete with today's standard cryogenic system, the dilution refrigerator, which represents the market standard for achieving cryogenic temperatures.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 1, 2020
    Publication date: June 30, 2022
    Inventor: Matthew Grayson
  • Publication number: 20220099711
    Abstract: Systems and methods include an electrical switch that establishes a first electrical conducting path between terminals of an electrical measurement apparatus through one or more electrical leads and an electrically-conductive sample in a first state, and a second electrical conducting path between the terminals through the one or more electrical leads while bypassing the sample in a second state. A voltage VS+L is measured across all of the sample and the one or more electrical leads in the first state, while a voltage VL is measured across the one or more electrical leads while bypassing the sample in the second state. Calculations according to the equation VS=VS+L?VL are performed to determine a precision DC voltage measurement of a voltage across the sample VS in the absence of Seebeck voltage offsets contributed by the one or more electrical leads.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 24, 2021
    Publication date: March 31, 2022
    Inventors: Matthew Grayson, Chulin Wang, Juncen Li, William H. Reinhardt
  • Publication number: 20210307731
    Abstract: A medical swab includes a hollow tube shaft that has a distal end and a proximal end. A swab tip is mounted to the hollow tube shaft such that a first portion of the swab tip is positioned within the distal end of the hollow tube shaft and a second portion of the swab tip extends out from the distal end of the hollow tube shaft.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 2, 2021
    Publication date: October 7, 2021
    Inventors: Matthew Grayson, Jun Peng, Jiaxing Huang, Guillermo Ameer, Nancy Rivera Bolanos
  • Publication number: 20200381607
    Abstract: Woven flexible thermoelectric fabrics are provided. The fabric is a woven material that includes a series of longitudinal threads interwoven with a series of transverse threads. Within the longitudinal series, the threads have a repeating thread pattern of an n-type thermoelectric thread, a p-type thermoelectric thread, and an insulating thread. Within the transverse series, the threads have a repeating thread pattern of a first double-sided thread with conducting side down and insulating side up, a second double-sided thread with conducting side down and insulating side up, and a third double-sided thread with conducting side up and insulating side down.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 7, 2019
    Publication date: December 3, 2020
    Inventors: Matthew Grayson, Ramille Shah, Jun Peng, Adam Jakus, Nicholas Geisendorfer
  • Patent number: 10720560
    Abstract: A transverse thermoelectric includes a first array of hole-conducting nanowires and a second array of electron-conducting nanowires positioned orthogonal to the first array of nanowires. A substrate provides structure to the first array of nanowires and the second array of nanowires.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 21, 2020
    Assignee: Northwestern University
    Inventors: Matthew Grayson, Mark C Hersam, Chuanle Zhou, Yang Tang, Tejas Shastry
  • Patent number: 10529674
    Abstract: Systems and methods provide a device for characterizing a thin film, including a conducting or insulating substrate, an active layer on the conducting or insulating substrate to be characterized, and a plurality of stripline electrodes on the active layer. The plurality of stripline electrodes include a pitch width of a same order as the thickness of the active layer and strip width smaller than the thickness of the active layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 7, 2020
    Assignee: Northwestern University
    Inventors: Matthew Grayson, Yang Tang
  • Patent number: 10444187
    Abstract: Systems and methods can provide a fast and accurate way to measure conductivity and Hall effect, such that transient conductivities, transient carrier densities or transient mobilities can be measured on millisecond time scales, for example. The systems and methods can also reduce the minimum magnetic field needed to extract carrier density or mobility of a given sample, and reduce the minimum mobility that can be measured with a given magnetic field.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2019
    Assignee: Northwestern University
    Inventors: Matthew Grayson, Jiajun Luo
  • Patent number: 10215796
    Abstract: A system and a method determine a quality of a doped semiconductor layer in terms of a charge carrier density gradient by measuring two magnetic-field-dependent resistances using four contacts of a specimen.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 26, 2019
    Assignee: Northwestern University
    Inventors: Matthew Grayson, Wang Zhou
  • Publication number: 20180188205
    Abstract: Systems and methods can provide a fast and accurate way to measure conductivity and Hall effect, such that transient conductivities, transient carrier densities or transient mobilities can be measured on millisecond time scales, for example. The systems and methods can also reduce the minimum magnetic field needed to extract carrier density or mobility of a given sample, and reduce the minimum mobility that can be measured with a given magnetic field.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 30, 2017
    Publication date: July 5, 2018
    Applicant: Northwestern University
    Inventors: Matthew Grayson, Jiajun Luo
  • Publication number: 20180151515
    Abstract: Systems and methods provide a device for characterizing a thin film, including a conducting or insulating substrate, an active layer on the conducting or insulating substrate to be characterized, and a plurality of stripline electrodes on the active layer. The plurality of stripline electrodes include a pitch width of a same order as the thickness of the active layer and strip width smaller than the thickness of the active layer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 28, 2017
    Publication date: May 31, 2018
    Applicant: Northwestern University
    Inventors: Matthew Grayson, Yang Tang
  • Patent number: 9535025
    Abstract: A probe assembly includes plural capacitive contacts that are separate from each other and a conductive depletion gate disposed between and separating the contacts from each other. The depletion gate is configured to receive a direct electric voltage to deplete regions of a sample under test of electrons. The contacts are configured to be placed in close proximity to a buried conducting layer in the sample under test without engaging the buried conducting layer, thereby capacitively coupling to the buried conducting layer. A first subset of the capacitive contacts is configured to apply an alternating electric current to a portion of the sample under test and a second subset of the capacitive contacts is configured to sense an alternating voltage response of the portion of the sample under test to characterize one or more electrical properties of the sample under test without the capacitive contact with the buried conductive layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2017
    Assignee: Northwestern University
    Inventors: Matthew Grayson, Wang Zhou, Gautham Badri Ramachandran Sundar
  • Publication number: 20160334457
    Abstract: A system and a method determine a quality of a doped semiconductor layer in terms of a charge carrier density gradient by measuring two magnetic-field-dependent resistances using four contacts of a specimen.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 10, 2016
    Publication date: November 17, 2016
    Inventors: Matthew Grayson, Wang Zhou
  • Publication number: 20160079509
    Abstract: A transverse thermoelectric includes a first array of hole-conducting nanowires and a second array of electron-conducting nanowires positioned orthogonal to the first array of nanowires. A substrate provides structure to the first array of nanowires and the second array of nanowires.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 10, 2015
    Publication date: March 17, 2016
    Inventors: Matthew Grayson, Mark C. Hersam, Chuanle Zhou, Yang Tang, Tejas Shastry
  • Publication number: 20150022223
    Abstract: A probe assembly includes plural capacitive contacts that are separate from each other and a conductive depletion gate disposed between and separating the contacts from each other. The depletion gate is configured to receive a direct electric voltage in order to deplete regions of a sample under test of electrons. The contacts are configured to be placed in close proximity to a buried conducting layer in the sample under test without engaging the buried conducting layer, thereby capacitively coupling to the buried conducting layer. A first subset of the capacitive contacts is configured to apply an alternating electric current to a portion of the sample under test and a second subset of the capacitive contacts is configured to sense an alternating voltage response of the portion of the sample under test in order to characterize one or more electrical properties of the sample under test without the capacitive contacts having ohmic contact with the buried conducting layer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 6, 2013
    Publication date: January 22, 2015
    Inventors: Matthew Grayson, Wang Zhou, Gautham Badri Ramachandran Sundar
  • Patent number: 8829324
    Abstract: A transverse thermoelectric device includes a superlattice body, electrically conductive first and second contacts, and first and second thermal contacts. The superlattice body extends between opposite first and second ends along a first direction and between opposite first and second sides along a different, second direction. The superlattice body includes alternating first and second layers of crystalline materials oriented at an oblique angle relative to the first direction. The electrically conductive first contact is coupled with the first end of the superlattice and the electrically conductive second contact is coupled with the second end of the superlattice. The first thermal contact is thermally coupled to the first side of the superlattice and the second thermal contact is thermally coupled to the second side of the superlattice. A Seebeck tensor of the superlattice body is ambipolar.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 7, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 9, 2014
    Assignee: Northwestern University
    Inventors: Matthew Grayson, Chaunle Zhou
  • Patent number: D1107452
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2025
    Date of Patent: December 30, 2025
    Inventors: Jean-Paul Dumouchel, Theodore W. Fong, Matthew Grayson