Patents by Inventor Steven Pei

Steven Pei 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).

  • Short and thin silicon cantilever with tip and fabrication thereof
    Patent number: 7637960
    Abstract: Thin and short cantilevers possess both a low force constant and a high resonance frequency, thus are highly desirable for atomic force microscope (AFM) imaging and force measurement. According to some embodiments, the invention provides small silicon (Si) cantilevers integrated with a Si tip, for example fabricated from SOI wafers that are used for reducing the variation of thickness of the cantilevers. In one example, the fabrication process provided SOI chips containing 40 silicon cantilevers integrating with an ultra-sharp Si tip. The resolution of images obtained with these tips was much higher than those obtained with the commercial tips, while the force constants were much less, that is, more suitable for imaging soft samples.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2006
    Date of Patent: December 29, 2009
    Assignee: University of Houston
    Inventors: Chengzhi Cai, Chi-Ming Yam, Guoting Qin, Steven Pei, Qingkai Yu
  • Short and thin silicon cantilever with tip and fabrication thereof
    Publication number: 20070125160
    Abstract: Thin and short cantilevers possess both a low force constant and a high resonance frequency, thus are highly desirable for atomic force microscope (AFM) imaging and force measurement. According to some embodiments, the invention provides small silicon (Si) cantilevers integrated with a Si tip, for example fabricated from SOI wafers that are used for reducing the variation of thickness of the cantilevers. In one example, the fabrication process provided SOI chips containing 40 silicon cantilevers integrating with an ultra-sharp Si tip. The resolution of images obtained with these tips was much higher than those obtained with the commercial tips, while the force constants were much less, that is, more suitable for imaging soft samples.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 15, 2006
    Publication date: June 7, 2007
    Applicant: The University of Houston
    Inventors: Chengzhi Cai, Chin-Ming Yam, Guoting Qin, Steven Pei, Qingkai Yu