Films | Office of Technology Licensing

Available Technologies by Category
Tunable Membrane-Based Wastewater Treatment and Resource Recovery	Customizable membrane structure and surface properties provide selective removal of contaminants of emerging concerns (CEC) and recovery of valuable components. An enlarged membrane surface area, combined with a gutter effect from the interlayer, results in nearly double the water permeability of current filtration membranes. Achieves high-performance recovery of essential nutrients/fertilizers that are free of CECs.	8633
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
Superluminescent Light Projection (SLP) System Decreases Nanoscale Printing Costs by 10–50 Times	This superluminescent light projection (SLP) system decreases overall nanoscale printing costs by 10–50 times. A parallel writing mechanism supports higher throughput speeds: up to 100 times higher than existing metal printing methods and four times higher than existing polymer printing methods. SLP creates sharp-edged images with minimal speckling patterns, resulting in high-resolution images and structures on both polymer and metal-based films.	9066
Chemically Modified Reduced Graphene Oxides (rGOs) Improve Strength and Qualities of Polymer Composites	Chemically modifying rGO creates improved dispersibility and miscibility that can be used in polymer processes as a composite reinforcement or coating material. Easily scalable solution chemistry and purification/filtration makes the process economically feasible, resulting in a commercially viable material for many applications. Melt lamination results in a robust conductive coating that is more durable than comparable polymer-based coatings and enables many electronically active device designs.	8297
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
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
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
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
Nanoparticle-Stabilized Carbon Molecular Sieve Membranes for Efficient, Large-Scale Gas Separation	Cost efficient: Eliminates the need for the time-consuming process of post-treating precursor fibers in a chemical modifying agent in order to prevent collapse Scalable: Increases available surface area for gas separation to accommodate large-scale applications Adaptable: Allows for selection of the nanoparticles’ concentration and type to meet a desired combination of gas permeance and selectivity	6723
Molecular Flux Measurement Device and Method	Efficient: Enables a 3x increase in MBE speed compared with metal organic chemical vapor deposition Controlled: Provides flux stability and control by enabling in-situ measurement of a signal related to the flux, achieving 0.001% flux stability under optimal conditions Reliable: Enables signal measurement in real time, providing high accuracy and reproducibility	3556
Bio-Inspired Gripper with Shear-Induced Clamping	Effective: Assists in lifting/releasing objects when in a shear-activated/disactivated mode Versatile: Works with a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and materials Robust: Does not require high precision in controlling vise jaws, making it easy to implement in an industrial environment	8393
Novel Thin-Film Coatings for Enhanced Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) Cathodes	Enhances activity and stability: Electro-catalytic activity and stability were enhanced in symmetrical and anode-supported cells. Eliminates technical hurdles: By reducing operating temperatures to 700°C or lower, this process makes SOFCs more commercially feasible. Efficient: The efficient one-step infiltration process enables implementation for typical SOFC fabrication.	6331
Hybrid Triboelectric Nanogenerator Harvests Mechanical and Electrical Energy	Sustainable: Harvests energy from the environment to minimize the use of non-renewable materials for power Highly efficient: Exhibits an unprecedented conversion efficiency of 50% to 85%, an area power density of 313 watts per square meter, and a volume power density of 340 kilowatts per cubic meter Powerful: Integrates with several other TENGs for output power of 1 megawatt	6606
Innovative Draw-based Fabrication of Patterned Structures Beyond Prismatic Geometries	Innovative: Pioneers a new method, expanding the applications of drawing lithography for shapes other than sharp point geometry Straightforward: Introduces a simpler procedure that, unlike photolithography, does not require a cleanroom or ultraviolet (UV) curing, making it viable for continuous manufacturing Flexible: Includes parameters that can be tuned to produce patterns of different sizes and shapes	8329
High-Caliber 3D and Aerosol Jet Printing with Regenerated Silk Fibroin (RSF)	High fidelity: Preserves silk fibroin’s advantageous mechanical properties by creating a printable RSF solution without the need for chemical additives High quality: Identifies the optimum parameters for producing printed patterns with minimal flaws Efficient: Reduces obstacles (e.g., clogged nozzle and overspray) normally encountered in other processes, like inkjet printing	8386
Vapor Modification Method for Wood Product Preservation	Water repellant: Manages moisture content by facilitating deep penetration and coating of metal oxide throughout the wood structure Fungal resistant: Withstands mold growth in humid and moist environments Thermally insulating: Reduces thermal bridging in wood studs used in building materials	8391
A Process to Chemically Modify Polymeric Materials	Cost reduction – cost is reduced due to technique simplification Efficiency – technique has no requirement for repeated cycling Flexibility – VPI can be applied at any stage in production processes	7445
Alternative Plastic Solution Using Chitin Nanofibers	Environmentally friendly – made from renewable materials and biodegradable Competitive – permeability comparable or better than industry standard Cheap – made from a low cost and renewable resources	8145
Contact Resistance Stabilization for Lead Free Surfaces	Efficiency — fuel flexibilty Cost effective — single-step solution and less expensive materials Lower operating temperature — clean production of electricity	3281
Superomniphobic Paper	Cost effective Higher oil repellency than currently available Can be modified to repel other substance	6222

Technologies