| Scalable Manufacturing Approach of Graded Polymer Thin Film Has Potential for Widespread Use |
- Combines slot die coating with a custom roll-to-roll imaging system to allow for efficient, rapid, and scalable fabrication of high-quality gradient thin films.
- An improved manufacturing process over existing techniques because it uses broad material combinations and yields higher quality patterned thin films.
- Incorporates multiple materials to increase the application of patterned thin films across industries, including microelectronics, energy technologies, and environmental systems.
|
8994 |
|
| Overvoltage Surge Protection System for Distributed Energy Resources |
- iMOV is a dynamic system capable of achieving voltage surge clamping within 20% of the system’s nominal voltage. This effectively provides protection for highly sensitive semiconductors present in DER-associated power converters.
- This system is built upon a metal oxide varistors (MOV) foundation, whose material composition inherently allows rapid device connection of 500 picoseconds for quicker response times.
- iMOV uses integrated microprocessors and sensors in a cloud-based architecture that provides protection against cyberattacks, reduces system cost, and allows system and power grid monitoring.
|
9190 |
|
| Monitor Vehicle Location and Maintain Vehicle Health During Long-Term Storage |
- Vehicle health and location monitoring system automatically establishes a mesh network for vehicle fleet monitoring by a human, drone, or mobile robot.
- Checks battery and other vehicle health status as well as determines locations of all connected vehicles in storage.
- When a vehicle is found with low battery levels, a mobile robot can safely provide a charge to the battery to get the vehicle running.
|
8938 |
|
| Solar Cell Manufacturing Technique Increases Efficiency and Lowers Costs |
- This double-side polysilicon/silicon oxide TOPCon (tunnel oxide passivated contact) solar cell concept provides a simple and low-cost way to passivate front and back surfaces of silicon wafers to enhance efficiency.
- Provides current and voltage comparable to full-area double-side TOPCon but with no appreciable absorption in front polysilicon and without compromising short circuit current density
- Includes a novel and fast way to pattern polysilicon using laser-induced selective oxidation
|
8888 |
|
| Deployable Critical Active Learning (DECAL) System Offers Better Characterization for Improved Diagnostics and Imaging |
- The deployable critical active learning (DECAL) system’s bi-modal interface enables better characterization with large training sets that generate more accurate output for higher precision.
- The algorithm used during the initialization period creates a framework that can be expanded and generalized to any data method and application.
- The DECAL algorithm samples uniquely important, unlabeled data to aid existing active learning systems in generalizing more quickly, providing faster diagnosis statistics.
|
9099 |
|
| Parametric Resonance Approach for Efficient, Versatile Acoustic Power Transfer for Implantable/Wearable Devices, Sensing, and Communications |
- New class of transducers utilizes parametric resonance to convert acoustic energy from an ultrasonic source to a sustained electrical signal.
- Technology powers implantable biomedical devices, small wearable sensors, and other wireless charging applications.
- Simple yet robust generation of stable electromechanical frequency combs is also possible in both air and liquid environments using a capacitive micro-resonator array.
|
7635, 9075 |
|
| Customizable Smart Charging Solution for Electric Vehicles in Residential Areas |
- This customizable smart charger uses algorithms and a hardware prototype to control electric vehicle charging and optimize benefits to consumers and power grid operators.
- Consumers can charge according to their preference (e.g., minimize cost, maximize carbon-free energy usage, minimize charging time, or minimize battery degradation).
- The smart charger selects charging profiles that delay charging to avoid excessive loads on the power grid.
|
8980 |
|
| Quantitative, Performance-Driven Framework for Optimal Desalination Architectures and Energy Subsystems |
- Incorporate and simultaneously compare attributes of multiple types of both desalting systems and energy subsystems for optimal system architectures
- Assess parameters that impact overall cost to discover complete architectures that would not have been discoverable using traditional methods.
- Focus on renewable energy subsystems such as solar, wind, geothermal, hydroelectric, and others to create complete desalination architectures that are cleaner and more water efficient than their conventional counterparts.
|
9055 |
|
| Anodically Coloring Molecular Electrochromics (EC) Improve Contrast, Color, and Transitions |
- True black-to-clear transitions with high contrast and color tuning are now possible with anodically coloring electrochromics.
- Broad absorption supports color mixing and color tunability in the charged state, and color tuning is enabled by manipulating the oscillator strengths of radical cation transitions.
- Energy required for practical electrochromic applications is effectively decreased by much lower oxidative potentials, as compared to their corresponding polyamides.
|
7745 |
|
| Self-Driven, Reusable, Scalable Technique for Harvesting Microalgae with Porous Superabsorbent Polymer |
- Fast: The optimized pore structure of the PSAP beads allows fast and selective absorption of water, greatly reducing standard processing time.
- Cost effective: Microalgae harvesting with PSAP beads cuts costs, as it does not require any complex instrument and little training is needed to operate the harvesting procedures.
- Scalable: PSAP beads can be produced in large quantities at a significantly lower cost than conventional harvesting tools.
|
8849 |
|
| Buoyant Platform Assembly Improves PCM Thermal Management |
- Enhances solidification: Incorporating highly localized agitation via a stirring whip rod, this technology seeds solidification to improve this often-arduous phase of PCM thermal cycling.
- Prevents scale build-up: This technology reduces the instance of sheets of solid PCM forming on the heat sink. The high-frequency, extensible whip rod orbits around the passageway to facilitate nucleation (creating improved solidification), while preventing scale build-up on the interior passageway surfaces.
- Customizable: The structural design allows the platform to be tailored to the effective density of the PCM material, enabling it to stay between the liquid and solid phases.
|
8835 |
|
| Lightweight, Versatile Cryogenic Conductors |
- Lithium exhibits lower atomic mass, higher power density, and lower losses under cryogenic conditions
- Conductors such as lithium become even more power-dense at lower temperatures, exhibiting improved electrical performance
- Cladding with copper enables lithium to be drawn using standard wire-drawing techniques and tools
|
8729 |
|
| Vapor Phase Infiltration Produces Solar Cells with Greater Thermal Stability |
- Stability: Decreasing spiro-OMeTAD crystallization improves thermal stability of hole transport layers within perovskite solar cells (PSCs)
- Longevity: Eliminating the main cause of PSCs’ operational degradation increases the overall product lifespan
- Efficiency: Preventing the delamination of the layers transporting electronic charge has doubled the power conversion efficiency of modified PSCs
|
9034 |
|
| Atomic Metal Catalysts |
- Innovative: Generates new isomers by changing the order in which atoms are added in a hetero-atomic cluster (can maximize available catalytic sites)
- Efficient: Creates and optimizes active isomers of atomic metals such as Au and Pd, increasing the catalytic efficiency of these high-demand metals (requires minimal precious catalytic metal)
- Scalable: Provides a scalable process resulting in theoretically predictable catalytic properties
|
6451, 5217 |
|
| Reprocessing, Recycling, and Repairing Covalent Adaptable Network Polymers |
- Environmentally friendly: Recycles fibers and polymers without the use of supercritical chemicals (e.g., acids)
- Effective: Allows for pressure-free surface repair and welding
- Efficient: Reclaims fibers and polymer with the same mechanical properties as fresh material for use in new products
|
7348 |
|
| Thin Current Spreading Layers Improve Breakdown Performance |
- Increases current uniformity: Improves cumulative current flow distribution from ~40% to ~100% of the p-type contact
- Improves breakdown performance: Avoids premature breakdown at the mesa edges making quasi-vertical devices comparable in performance to more expensive vertical devices.
- Improves Immunity to Etch Variation: Because current flow is no longer crowded along the mesa edges, process related variations in the mesa etching are less important to the diode performance.
|
8789 |
|
| More Efficient Method for Electrochemical Reduction of Carbon Dioxide |
- Efficient CO2 recycling: Allows for robust recycling of unreacted CO2 from an electrochemical cell
- Increased overall CO2 conversion: Features efficient use of recycling, enabling 100% theoretical atom conversion for this reaction with an intrinsically low CO2 conversion
- Customized deployment: Integrates with a wide variety of product streams
|
8875 |
|
| Cascaded Nickel Hard Mask |
- Substantially deeper etches: Because a very thick metal mask can be created, a wide range of µm features can be etched in a variety of III-Nitride semiconductors, allowing for extremely high voltage devices that require thicker layer structures
- Robust: This method has demonstrated highly consistent and effective protection against the kind of damage that is typical with standard fabrication methods
- Scalable: The nickel hard mask with cascaded e-beam evaporation and sputtering metal deposition method can readily be applied to the large-scale production of electronic devices
|
8790 |
|
| Self-Powered Highly Stretchable Sensing Interface for Gesture Recognition |
- Self-contained: Includes a signal processing pipeline, providing gesture recognition for an extensive range of input modalities without the need for external power or sensing equipment
- Assistive: Enables eyes-free, unobtrusive, and ergonomic interaction with computing devices embedded in wearables
- Versatile: Demonstrates far-reaching potential for applications beyond gesture recognition including in actuation and data acquisition
|
7987 |
|
| p-type Be-Doped AlN Films and Layered Films |
- Enabling: Leverages MME method to provide the first access to p-type AlN:Be films, a superior ultra-wide bandgap semiconductor material good for high-power, high-temperature diodes and transistors
- Ease of fabrication: Avoids costly and complicated methods unfavorable for beryllium doping
- Improved breakdown performance: Achieves high reverse breakdown voltage—a significant advantage over WBG materials such as silicon carbide (SiC) and GaN
|
8810, 8666, 8786 |
|
