Patents by Inventor Michael Grundmann

Michael Grundmann 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).

  • Publication number: 20240083562
    Abstract: A watercraft includes at least one high-temperature superconducting coil and a cooling system for cooling the high-temperature superconducting coil to a cryogenic operating temperature, wherein the cooling system has a first cryostat tank, which surrounds the high-temperature superconducting coil and is designed to hold a liquid phase of a cryogenic coolant; wherein the watercraft also has a load, which is designed to convert an operating medium in the form of a fuel and/or in the form of a material promoting combustion; wherein at least one first material component of the operating medium is formed by the cryogenic coolant; and wherein the first cryostat tank is designed to hold a major part of the required total amount of the first material component of the operating medium for the operation of the load. A method operates a watercraft of this type.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 29, 2020
    Publication date: March 14, 2024
    Applicant: Siemens Energy Global GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventors: Michael Frank, Jörn Grundmann, Peter van Hasselt
  • Publication number: 20240021753
    Abstract: A light-emitting diode (LED) device can include a mesa with a sidewall encompassing a first semiconductor layer, a second semiconductor layer, and an active region between the first semiconductor layer and the second semiconductor layer. The first semiconductor layer and the second semiconductor layer are oppositely doped. The active region includes a quantum well. The LED device can further include at least one epitaxial layer grown over the sidewall of the mesa. The at least one epitaxial layer comprises a semiconductor material having a wider bandgap than a semiconductor material of the quantum well and is configured to induce compressive or tensile strain in the quantum well. The compressive or tensile strain causes a bandgap of a peripheral portion of the quantum well to differ from a bandgap of a central portion of the quantum well, thereby tuning an emission profile (e.g., wavelength and/or intensity) of the LED device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 13, 2022
    Publication date: January 18, 2024
    Inventors: Alexander TONKIKH, Berthold HAHN, Michael GRUNDMANN, John Joseph CURLEY, Rajesh BALACHANDRAN
  • Patent number: 11784287
    Abstract: A micro-light emitting diode includes a mesa structure that includes a first set of one or more semiconductor layers, an active layer configured to emit light, a second set of one or more semiconductor layers on the active layer, and a dielectric layer in sidewall regions of the mesa structure. A center region of the second set of one or more semiconductor layers is thicker than a sidewall region of the second set of one or more semiconductor layers, such that a distance from a surface of the sidewall region of the second set of one or more semiconductor layers to the active layer is less than a distance from a surface of the center region of the second set of one or more semiconductor layers to the active layer, thereby forming a surface potential-induced lateral potential barrier at a sidewall region of the active layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2023
    Assignee: META PLATFORMS TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventors: Alexander Tonkikh, Michael Grundmann, Alexander Franke
  • Patent number: 11699773
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are techniques for forming a thin-film circuit layer on an array of light-emitting diodes (LEDs). LEDs in the array of LEDs can be singulated by various processes, such as etching and ion implantation. Singulating LEDs can be performed before or after forming the thin-film circuit layer on the array of LEDs. The array of LEDs can be bonded to a transparent or non-transparent substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2022
    Date of Patent: July 11, 2023
    Assignee: META PLATFORMS TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventors: Chloe Astrid Marie Fabien, Michael Grundmann
  • Patent number: 11677042
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are methods, systems, and apparatuses for an light emitting diode (LED) array apparatus. In some embodiments, the LED array apparatus may include a plurality of mesas etched from a layered epitaxial structure. The layered epitaxial structure may include a P-type doped semiconductor layer, a active layer, and an N-type doped semiconductor layer. The LED array apparatus may also include one or more regrowth semiconductor layers, including a first regrowth semiconductor layer, which may be grown epitaxially over etched facets of the plurality of mesas. In some cases, for each mesa, the first regrowth semiconductor layer may overlay etched facets of the P-type doped semiconductor layer, the active layer, and the N-type doped semiconductor layer, around an entire perimeter of the mesa.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2023
    Assignee: META PLATFORMS TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventors: Markus Broell, Michael Grundmann, David Hwang, Stephan Lutgen, Brian Matthew Mcskimming, Anurag Tyagi
  • Publication number: 20220384679
    Abstract: A micro-light emitting diode includes a mesa structure that includes a first set of one or more semiconductor layers, an active layer configured to emit light, a second set of one or more semiconductor layers on the active layer, and a dielectric layer in sidewall regions of the mesa structure. A center region of the second set of one or more semiconductor layers is thicker than a sidewall region of the second set of one or more semiconductor layers, such that a distance from a surface of the sidewall region of the second set of one or more semiconductor layers to the active layer is less than a distance from a surface of the center region of the second set of one or more semiconductor layers to the active layer, thereby forming a surface potential-induced lateral potential barrier at a sidewall region of the active layer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 26, 2021
    Publication date: December 1, 2022
    Inventors: Alexander TONKIKH, Michael GRUNDMANN, Alexander FRANKE
  • Publication number: 20220271207
    Abstract: Techniques disclosed herein relate to micro light emitting diodes (micro-LEDs) for a display system. A display system includes an array of micro light emitting diodes (micro-LEDs), an array of output couplers optically coupled to the array of micro-LEDs and configured to extract light emitted by respective micro-LEDs in the array of micro-LEDs, a waveguide display, and display optics configured to couple the light emitted by the array of micro-LEDs and extracted by the array of output couplers into the waveguide display. Each output coupler in the array of output couplers is configured to direct a chief ray of the light emitted by a respective micro-LED in the array of micro-LEDs to a different respective direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 9, 2022
    Publication date: August 25, 2022
    Inventors: Stephan Lutgen, François Gérard Franck Olivier, Vasily Zabelin, William Padraic Henry, Markus Broell, Thomas Lauermann, David Massoubre, Daniel Bryce Thompson, Michael Grundmann
  • Publication number: 20220254974
    Abstract: For small, high-resolution, light-emitting diode (LED) displays, such as for a near-eye display in an artificial-reality headset, LEDs are spaced closely together. A backplane can be used to drive an array of LEDs in an LED display. A plurality of interconnects electrically couple the backplane with the array of LEDs. The backplane can have a different coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) than the array of LEDs. During bonding of the backplane to the array of LEDs, CTE mismatch can cause misalignment of bonding sites. The higher the bonding temperature, the greater the misalignment of bonding sites. Lower temperature bonding, using materials with lower melting or bonding temperatures, can be used to mitigate misalignment during bonding so that interconnects can be more closely spaced, which can allow LEDs to be more closely spaced, to enable a higher-resolution display.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 26, 2022
    Publication date: August 11, 2022
    Inventors: Daniel Henry MORRIS, John GOWARD, Chloe Astrid Marie FABIEN, Michael GRUNDMANN
  • Publication number: 20220254952
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are techniques for forming a thin-film circuit layer on an array of light-emitting diodes (LEDs). LEDs in the array of LEDs can be singulated by various processes, such as etching and ion implantation. Singulating LEDs can be performed before or after forming the thin-film circuit layer on the array of LEDs. The array of LEDs can be bonded to a transparent or non-transparent substrate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 26, 2022
    Publication date: August 11, 2022
    Inventors: Chloe Astrid Marie FABIEN, Michael GRUNDMANN
  • Publication number: 20220231192
    Abstract: A micro-light emitting diode (micro-LED) includes a mesa structure that includes an n-type semiconductor layer, a p-type semiconductor layer, and an active region between the n-type semiconductor layer and the p-type semiconductor layer. The active region includes at least one quantum well layer. The at least one quantum well layer has a first effective bandgap and a first stress in a center region of the at least one quantum well layer, and a second effective bandgap and a second stress in a mesa sidewall region of the at least one quantum well layer. The second stress is lower than the first stress or is opposite to the first stress. The second effective bandgap is greater than the first effective bandgap to form a lateral carrier barrier in the at least one quantum well layer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 21, 2021
    Publication date: July 21, 2022
    Inventors: Christophe Antoine HURNI, Michael GRUNDMANN, Anurag TYAGI
  • Patent number: 11355665
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are techniques for forming a thin-film circuit layer on an array of light-emitting diodes (LEDs). LEDs in the array of LEDs can be singulated by various processes, such as etching and ion implantation. Singulating LEDs can be performed before or after forming the thin-film circuit layer on the array of LEDs. The array of LEDs can be bonded to a transparent or non-transparent substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 3, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2022
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Chloe Astrid Marie Fabien, Michael Grundmann
  • Patent number: 11349052
    Abstract: For small, high-resolution, light-emitting diode (LED) displays, such as for a near-eye display in an artificial-reality headset, LEDs are spaced closely together. A backplane can be used to drive an array of LEDs in an LED display. A plurality of interconnects electrically couple the backplane with the array of LEDs. The backplane can have a different coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) than the array of LEDs. During bonding of the backplane to the array of LEDs, CTE mismatch can cause misalignment of bonding sites. The higher the bonding temperature, the greater the misalignment of bonding sites. Lower temperature bonding, using materials with lower melting or bonding temperatures, can be used to mitigate misalignment during bonding so that interconnects can be more closely spaced, which can allow LEDs to be more closely spaced, to enable a higher-resolution display.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2022
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Daniel Henry Morris, John Goward, Chloe Astrid Marie Fabien, Michael Grundmann
  • Patent number: 11309464
    Abstract: Techniques disclosed herein relate to micro light emitting diodes (micro-LEDs) for a display system. A display system includes an array of micro light emitting diodes (micro-LEDs), an array of output couplers optically coupled to the array of micro-LEDs and configured to extract light emitted by respective micro-LEDs in the array of micro-LEDs, a waveguide display, and display optics configured to couple the light emitted by the array of micro-LEDs and extracted by the array of output couplers into the waveguide display. Each output coupler in the array of output couplers is configured to direct a chief ray of the light emitted by a respective micro-LED in the array of micro-LEDs to a different respective direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2022
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Stephan Lutgen, François Gérard Franck Olivier, Vasily Zabelin, William Padraic Henry, Markus Broell, Thomas Lauermann, David Massoubre, Daniel Bryce Thompson, Michael Grundmann
  • Patent number: 11239399
    Abstract: For small, high-resolution, light-emitting diode (LED) displays, such as for a near-eye display in an artificial-reality headset, LEDs are spaced closely together. A backplane can be used to drive an array of LEDs in an LED display. A plurality of interconnects electrically couple the backplane with the array of LEDs. As spacing between LEDs becomes smaller than interconnect spacing, a thin-film circuit layer can be used to reduce a number or interconnects between the backplane and the array of LEDs, so that interconnect spacing can be larger than LED spacing. This can allow LEDs in the LED display to be more densely arranged while still allowing use of a silicon backplane with drive circuitry to control operation of the LEDs in the LED display.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 1, 2022
    Assignee: FACEBOOK TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventors: Daniel Henry Morris, John Goward, Chloe Astrid Marie Fabien, Michael Grundmann
  • Patent number: 11126866
    Abstract: Examples implementations relate to determining path confidence for a vehicle. An example method includes receiving a request for a vehicle to navigate a target location. The method further includes determining a navigation path for the vehicle to traverse a first segment of the target location based on a plurality of prior navigation paths previously determined for traversal of segments similar to the first segment of the target location. The method also includes determining a confidence level associated with the navigation path. Based on the determined confidence level, the method additionally includes selecting a navigation mode for the vehicle from a plurality of navigation modes corresponding to a plurality of levels of remote assistance. The method further includes causing the vehicle to traverse the first segment of the target location using a level of remote assistance corresponding to the selected navigation mode for the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 7, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 21, 2021
    Assignee: Wing Aviation LLC
    Inventors: Martin Schubert, Philip Watson, Michael Grundmann, Gabriella Levine
  • Publication number: 20210159373
    Abstract: Techniques disclosed herein relate to light extraction structures for micro-LED arrays. According to certain embodiments, a device includes an array of micro-LEDs characterized by a first pitch, and an array of micro-lenses on the array of micro-LEDs and characterized by a second pitch different from the first pitch. Each micro-lens in the array of micro-lenses corresponds to a respective micro-LED in the array of micro-LEDs. In some embodiments, the first pitch is greater than the second pitch such that a chief ray of light from each micro-LED in the array of micro-LEDs after passing through the corresponding micro-lens tilts in a respective direction towards a middle line of the device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 20, 2020
    Publication date: May 27, 2021
    Inventor: Michael GRUNDMANN
  • Publication number: 20210151649
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are techniques for bonding arrays of light emitting diodes (LEDs) to a plurality of driver circuits. According to certain embodiments, a method includes forming an array comprising a plurality of LEDs on a first substrate, separating the array into a plurality of sub-arrays by forming a plurality of gaps between the plurality of sub-arrays, bonding the plurality of sub-arrays to a plurality of driver circuits that are formed on a second substrate, forming an underfill within the plurality of gaps, and removing the first substrate from the plurality of sub-arrays.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 2, 2020
    Publication date: May 20, 2021
    Inventors: John Goward, Michael Grundmann
  • Publication number: 20210126164
    Abstract: A light source includes a p-type semiconductor layer, an n-type semiconductor layer, and an active region between the p-type semiconductor layer and the n-type semiconductor layer and configured to emit light. The active region includes a plurality of barrier layers and one or more quantum well layers. The plurality of barrier layers of the active region includes at least one n-doped barrier layer that includes an n-type dopant. The active region is characterized by a lateral linear dimension equal to or less than about 10 ?m. The n-type dopant includes, for example, silicon, selenium, or tellurium.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 27, 2020
    Publication date: April 29, 2021
    Inventors: Markus BROELL, David HWANG, Steven David LESTER, Anurag TYAGI, Michael GRUNDMANN, Guillaume LHEUREUX, Alexander TONKIKH
  • Publication number: 20210111319
    Abstract: Techniques disclosed herein relate to micro light emitting diodes (micro-LEDs) for a display system. A display system includes an array of micro light emitting diodes (micro-LEDs), an array of output couplers optically coupled to the array of micro-LEDs and configured to extract light emitted by respective micro-LEDs in the array of micro-LEDs, a waveguide display, and display optics configured to couple the light emitted by the array of micro-LEDs and extracted by the array of output couplers into the waveguide display. Each output coupler in the array of output couplers is configured to direct a chief ray of the light emitted by a respective micro-LED in the array of micro-LEDs to a different respective direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 3, 2020
    Publication date: April 15, 2021
    Inventors: Stephan Lutgen, François Gérard Franck Olivier, Vasily Zabelin, William Padraic Henry, Markus Broell, Thomas Lauermann, David Massoubre, Daniel Bryce Thompson, Michael Grundmann
  • Publication number: 20200403117
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are techniques for forming a thin-film circuit layer on an array of light-emitting diodes (LEDs). LEDs in the array of LEDs can be singulated by various processes, such as etching and ion implantation. Singulating LEDs can be performed before or after forming the thin-film circuit layer on the array of LEDs. The array of LEDs can be bonded to a transparent or non-transparent substrate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 3, 2020
    Publication date: December 24, 2020
    Inventors: Chloe Astrid Marie Fabien, Michael Grundmann