Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080207100 | Customized polishing pads for CMP and methods of fabrication and use thereof - The present application relates to polishing pads for chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) of substrates, and methods of fabrication and use thereof. The pads described in this invention are customized to polishing specifications where specifications include (but not limited to) to the material being polished, chip design and architecture, chip density and pattern density, equipment platform and type of slurry used. These pads can be designed with a specialized polymeric nano-structure with a long or short range order which allows for molecular level tuning achieving superior thermo-mechanical characteristics. More particularly, the pads can be designed and fabricated so that there is both uniform and nonuniform spatial distribution of chemical and physical properties within the pads. In addition, these pads can be designed to tune the coefficient of friction by surface engineering, through the addition of solid lubricants, and creating low shear integral pads having multiple layers of polymeric material which form an interface parallel to the polishing surface. The pads can also have controlled porosity, embedded abrasive, novel grooves on the polishing surface, for slurry transport, which are produced in situ, and a transparent region for endpoint detection. | 08-28-2008 |
20080211141 | Methods for producing in-situ grooves in chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) pads, and novel CMP pad designs - Methods for producing in-situ grooves in CMP pads are provided. In general, the methods for producing in-situ grooves comprise the steps of patterning a silicone lining, placing the silicone lining in, or on, a mold, adding CMP pad material to the silicone lining, and allowing the CMP pad to solidify. CMP pads comprising novel groove designs are also described. For example, described here are CMP pads comprising concentric circular grooves and axially curved grooves, reverse logarithmic grooves, overlapping circular grooves, lassajous groves, double spiral grooves, and multiply overlapping axially curved grooves. The CMP pads may be made from polyurethane, and the grooves produced therein may be made by a method from the group consisting of silicone lining, laser writing, water jet cutting, 3-D printing, thermoforming, vacuum forming, micro-contact printing, hot stamping, and mixtures thereof. | 09-04-2008 |
20080253728 | Microphotonic waveguide including core/cladding interface layer - The invention provides a waveguide with a waveguide core having longitudinal sidewall surfaces, a longitudinal top surface, and a longitudinal bottom surface that is disposed on a substrate. An interface layer is disposed on at least one longitudinal sidewall surface of the waveguide core. A waveguide cladding layer is disposed on at least the waveguide core sidewall and top surfaces, over the interface layer. The waveguide of the invention can be produced by forming a waveguide undercladding layer on a substrate, and then forming a waveguide core on the undercladding layer. An interface layer is then formed on at least a longitudinal sidewall surface of the waveguide core, and an upper cladding layer is formed on a longitudinal top surface and on longitudinal sidewall surfaces of the waveguide core, over the interface layer. | 10-16-2008 |
20090053976 | Customized Polishing Pads for CMP and Methods of Fabrication and Use Thereof - The present application relates to polishing pads for chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) of substrates, and methods of fabrication and use thereof. The pads described in this invention are customized to polishing specifications where specifications include (but not limited to) to the material being polished, chip design and architecture, chip density and pattern density, equipment platform and type of slurry used. These pads can be designed with a specialized polymeric nano-structure with a long or short range order which allows for molecular level tuning achieving superior thermo-mechanical characteristics. More particularly, the pads can be designed and fabricated so that there is both uniform and nonuniform spatial distribution of chemical and physical properties within the pads. In addition, these pads can be designed to tune the coefficient of friction by surface engineering, through the addition of solid lubricants, and creating low shear integral pads having multiple layers of polymeric material which form an interface parallel to the polishing surface. The pads can also have controlled porosity, embedded abrasive, novel grooves on the polishing surface, for slurry transport, which are produced in situ, and a transparent region for endpoint detection. | 02-26-2009 |
20100273398 | CUSTOMIZED POLISH PADS FOR CHEMICAL MECHANICAL PLANARIZATION - A polishing pad for chemical mechanical planarization of a film on a substrate is customized by obtaining one or more characteristics of a structure on a substrate. For example, when the structure is a chip formed on a semiconductor wafer, the one or more characteristics of the structure can include chip size, pattern density, chip architecture, film material, film topography, and the like. Based on the one or more characteristics of the structure, a value for the one or more chemical or physical properties of the pad is selected. For example, the one or more chemical or physical properties of the pad can include pad material hardness, thickness, surface grooving, pore size, porosity, Youngs modulus, compressibility, asperity, and the like. | 10-28-2010 |
20130059509 | METHODS FOR PRODUCING IN-SITU GROOVES IN CHEMICAL MECHANICAL PLANARIZATION (CMP) PADS, AND NOVEL CMP PAD DESIGNS - Methods for producing in-situ grooves in CMP pads are provided. In general, the methods for producing in-situ grooves comprise the steps of patterning a silicone lining, placing the silicone lining in, or on, a mold, adding CMP pad material to the silicone lining, and allowing the CMP pad to solidify. CMP pads comprising novel groove designs are also described. For example, described here are CMP pads comprising concentric circular grooves and axially curved grooves, reverse logarithmic grooves, overlapping circular grooves, lassajous groves, double spiral grooves, and multiply overlapping axially curved grooves. The CMP pads may be made from polyurethane, and the grooves produced therein may be made by a method from the group consisting of silicone lining, laser writing, water jet cutting, 3-D printing, thermoforming, vacuum forming, micro-contact printing, hot stamping, and mixtures thereof. | 03-07-2013 |
20150065020 | CUSTOMIZED POLISHING PADS FOR CMP AND METHODS OF FABRICATION AND USE THEREOF - The present application relates to polishing pads for chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) of substrates, and methods of fabrication and use thereof. The pads described in this invention are customized to polishing specifications where specifications include (but not limited to) to the material being polished, chip design and architecture, chip density and pattern density, equipment platform and type of slurry used. These pads can be designed with a specialized polymeric nano-structure with a long or short range order which allows for molecular level tuning achieving superior themo-mechanical characteristics. More particularly, the pads can be designed and fabricated so that there is both uniform and nonuniform spatial distribution of chemical and physical properties within the pads. In addition, these pads can be designed to tune the coefficient of friction by surface engineering, through the addition of solid lubricants, and creating low shear integral pads having multiple layers of polymeric material which form an interface parallel to the polishing surface. The pads can also have controlled porosity, embedded abrasive, novel grooves on the polishing surface, for slurry transport, which are produced in situ, and a transparent region for endpoint detection. | 03-05-2015 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20100102174 | Wingless Hovering Of Micro Air Vehicle - Embodiments of the subject invention relate to a Wingless Hovering Micro Air Vehicle (WHOMAV) and its Power Source Unit (PSU). Embodiments can operate at reasonable power levels for hovering and withstanding expected wind gusts. Embodiments of the subject invention can have a diameter less than 15 cm. Embodiments can have one or more smooth (continuous curvature) surface and can be operated using electromagnetic and electrohydrodynamic principles. The wingless design of specific embodiments can allow operation with no rotating or moving components. Additional embodiments can allow active response to the surrounding flow conditions. The issue of low lift to drag ratio and degradation of airfoil efficiency due to the inability of laminar boundary layers attachment can also be significantly reduced, or eliminated. The electromagnetic force can be generated by applying a pulsed (alternating/rf) voltage between a set of grounded and powered electrodes separated by a polymer insulator, dielectric, or other material with insulating properties. | 04-29-2010 |
20100127624 | Method and Apparatus for Multibarrier Plasma Actuated High Performance Flow Control - Embodiments of the invention relate to a method and apparatus for plasma actuated high performance flow control. A specific embodiment of a plasma actuator can incorporate a power source; a first electrode in contact with a first dielectric layer and connected to the power source; a second electrode in contact with a second dielectric layer and connected to the power source; and a ground electrode. The power source drives the first electrode with a first ac voltage pattern with respect to the ground electrode and drives the second electrode with a second ac voltage pattern with respect to the ground electrode such that application of the first voltage pattern produces a first plasma discharge in a flow region, and a first electric field pattern in the flow region, and application of the second voltage pattern produces a second plasma discharge in the flow region and a second electric field pattern in the flow region. The first and second electrodes are offset along the direction of flow in the flow region and the first voltage pattern and the second voltage pattern have a phase difference such that the first and second electric fields drive flow in the flow region in different portions of the flow region at different times. | 05-27-2010 |
20100183424 | Electrodynamic Control of Blade Clearance Leakage Loss in Turbomachinery Applications - Electrodynamic control of fluid leakage loss is provided. Embodiments utilize electrohydrodynamic (EHD) principles to control and/or reduce leakage flow in turbomachinery. Electrodes can be used to provide a flow actuation mechanism inside the clearance gap for generating discharge. The electrodes can be positioned to have geometric asymmetry. Embodiments provide the electrodes on a turbine blade. The blade can have a DC power that can function as a square pulsed DC wave with the duty cycle equal to the blade passing frequency and the stator can be grounded. In an embodiment, the stator can have the actuator of the electrode-insulator assembly attached to the inside. In one embodiment, the actuators can be arranged just on the stator or casing. The phase and power supply to individual electrodes can be adapted as needed. In one embodiment, the phase can be lagged for accurate control of leakage flow. The control of the power supply to the electrodes can involve a closed control loop that monitors tip gap size. | 07-22-2010 |
20100200091 | Method and Apparatus for Efficient Micropumping - Efficient micro-pumping of gas/liquids is provided. In one embodiment a pipeline of insulative material can be asymmetrically coated with electrodes. The asymmetric coating can affect the flow passage to create straight and swirl pumping effects. The electrodes can include electrode pairs arranged at intervals along the pipeline, each electrode pair being capable of inducing an electrohydrodynamic body force. The electrode pairs can be formed at the same surface, such as along the inner perimeter of the pipeline, and can be powered by steady, pulsed direct, or alternating current. Alternatively, the electrode pairs can be separated by the insulative material of the pipeline, and can be powered with direct or alternating current operating at radio frequency. | 08-12-2010 |
20100252434 | Bio-Sensor Using Gated Electrokinetic Transport - Embodiments of the present invention provide a method and apparatus for selective electrokinetic separation. In an embodiment, a local gate electric field is applied to a voltage-gated nanochannel filled with an aqueous solution. Additionally, a surface charge may be present on the walls of the nanochannel. This local gate electric field shows a selective quenching feature of ionic density and behaves as a potential shield against selective charge from entering the nanochannel while facilitating transport of the opposite charge. Embodiments of the subject method can also be used to enhance osmotic diffusion of selective electrolytes through biological cells. Specific embodiments can be useful as a biosensor since most biological cells contain an aqueous solution. A surface charge and local gate electric field can be applied to a biological cell to selectively separate molecules, such as proteins or ions. Embodiments of the subject method can be used in conjunction with a field effect transistor to provide more efficient electrokinetic transport. In an embodiment, the subject invention provides an improved field effect transistor. By applying a surface charge to the walls of a nanochannel in a semiconductor material, the electric field of the transistor gives more selective separation of charged carriers. | 10-07-2010 |
20100310381 | ACTIVE FILM COOLING FOR TURBINE BLADES - A cooling system includes a surface comprising a plurality of orifices and a flow control plasma actuator positioned proximate an orifice to induce cooling air attachment to the surface. In an exemplary embodiment, the plasma actuator includes a power source, a first electrode in contact with a first dielectric layer and connected to the power source, a second electrode in contact with a second dielectric layer and connected to the power source, and a ground electrode. The power source drives the first electrode with a first ac voltage pattern and drives the second electrode with a second ac voltage pattern. The first voltage pattern and the second voltage pattern have a phase difference. In further embodiments, a dc voltage can be used to drive one or more of the electrodes, where the dc voltage can be pulsed in specific embodiments. In another embodiment, a cooling system includes a suction mechanism positioned proximate an orifice to induce cooling air attachment to the surface, the section mechanism being positioned downstream of the orifice. | 12-09-2010 |
20110116967 | SELF-STERILIZING DEVICE USING PLASMA FIELDS - Embodiments of the invention relate to a method and apparatus for self-sterilizing a surface or other portion of the apparatus and/or sterilizing other objects. Embodiments can utilize self-generated and/or remotely controlled plasma fields for the purpose of self-sterilization and/or sterilization of another object. Embodiments of the invention can have broad applications in procedures and equipment requiring the sterility of devices used for medical procedures, decontamination procedures, drug delivery, sterility of consumer products, and sterility of food preparation equipment and tools. | 05-19-2011 |
20120292262 | Apparatuses and Methods for Purifying Liquids - Disclosed are apparatuses and methods for purifying water. In some embodiments, the apparatuses include a chamber into which liquid to be purified can be delivered, and an ozone generator that generates ozone for mixture with the liquid in the chamber, the ozone generator comprising a surface discharge device that creates ozone from air. In further embodiments, the liquid is atomized into a fine mist and mixed with the ozone to increase the rate of purification. | 11-22-2012 |
20120304618 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SMALL SATELLITE PROPULSION - In a propulsion system, an electrohydrodynamic (EHD) body force is used to control the flow of a propellant through a micro channel, expansion slot, plenum chamber, or other flow region and thereby increase the specific impulse created by a propulsion system. In an embodiment, a plurality of electrodes are arranged and powered to create a plasma discharge, which can impart an EHD body force to a fluid. Various configurations of electrodes can be used to control the flow of the fluid into, out of, or through the flow region. In an embodiment, the use of EHD body forces can reduce, or substantially eliminate, shear forces on the surface of a plenum chamber, micro channel, or expansion slot of the propulsion system, resulting in a smooth flow of the propellant and increased thrust. | 12-06-2012 |
20130038199 | SYSTEM, METHOD, AND APPARATUS FOR MICROSCALE PLASMA ACTUATION - A device is provided having a flow passage with at least one surface and at least one electrode pair positioned thereon for effecting fluid flow through the flow passage. When at least one electrode of an electrode pair of the at least one electrode pair is powered, a sheath region is generated in the flow passage, wherein the sheath region has a high electric field relative to the remainder of the flow passage. In an embodiment, one electrode of the electrode pair is separated from the other electrode of the electrode pair by a horizontal, vertical, depth, and/or total distance of about 1 microns. | 02-14-2013 |
20130075382 | DIELECTRIC BARRIER DISCHARGE WIND TUNNEL - Embodiments of the subject invention are directed to methods and apparatus for inducing fluid flow in a wind tunnel using one or more plasma actuators. In an embodiment, a wind tunnel is provided having a flow passage. A pair of electrodes is positioned on at least one surface of the flow passage, and a voltage potential is applied across the pair of electrodes producing a plasma discharge in the flow passage. In an embodiment, the pair of electrodes is positioned on the at least one surface of the flow passage such that when the plasma discharge is produced an electrohydrodynamic (EHD) body force is generated that induces flow of a fluid in the flow passage. | 03-28-2013 |
20130077434 | PLASMA INDUCED FLUID MIXING - Embodiments of the subject invention are directed to methods and apparatus for inducing mixing in a fluid using one or more plasma actuators. In an embodiment, a pair of electrodes is positioned near a fluid and a voltage potential is applied across the pair of electrodes such that a plasma discharge is produced in the fluid. In an embodiment, the plasma discharge creates turbulence in the fluid thereby mixing the fluid. In an embodiment, flow structures, such as vortices are generated in the fluid. In an embodiment, the fluid is mixed in three dimensions. In an embodiment, a plurality of fluids are mixed. In an embodiment, solids are dispersed in at least one fluid. In an embodiment, heat or other properties are dispersed within at least one fluid. In an embodiment, at least one of the pair of electrodes has a serpentine shape. | 03-28-2013 |
20130134263 | WINGLESS HOVERING OF MICRO AIR VEHICLE - Embodiments of the subject invention relate to an air vehicle and a power source. Embodiments can operate at reasonable power levels for hovering and withstanding expected wind gusts. Embodiments can have a diameter less than 15 cm. Embodiments can have one or more smooth (continuous curvature) surface and can be operated using electromagnetic and electrohydrodynamic principles. The wingless design of specific embodiments can allow operation with no rotating or moving components. Additional embodiments can allow active response to the surrounding flow conditions. The issue of low lift to drag ratio and degradation of airfoil efficiency due to the inability of laminar boundary layers attachment can also be significantly reduced, or eliminated. The electromagnetic force can be generated by applying a pulsed (alternating/rf) voltage between a set of grounded and powered electrodes separated by a polymer insulator, dielectric, or other material with insulating properties. | 05-30-2013 |
20130218049 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DISINFECTING AND/OR SELF-STERILIZING A STETHOSCOPE USING PLASMA ENERGY - A method and apparatus for disinfecting and/or self-sterilizing at least a portion of the surface of a stethoscope is provided. Methods and devices are provided by which a device or apparatus can generate a sterilizing plasma such that a stethoscope, or portion of a stethoscope, can be placed within or near the device or apparatus so that the plasma disinfects and/or sterilizes and/or decontaminates at least a portion of the stethoscope. A method and apparatus are disclosed for providing a self-disinfecting and/or self-sterilizing and/or self-decontaminating stethoscope and stethoscope disinfecting and/or sterilization apparatus for disinfecting and/or sterilizing, respectively, all or at least a portion of a stethoscope. | 08-22-2013 |
20140346875 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROVIDING POWER - Embodiments of the subject invention are drawn to power supply units and systems for supplying power to loads. Specific embodiments relate to systems incorporating the loads. The power supply units and systems can include a feedback mechanism for monitoring the system and maintaining a parameter of interest at or near a desired value (e.g., for maintaining the frequency of operation at or near resonance). The feedback mechanism is configured such that, if the at least one parameter indicates that the frequency of operation is away from a resonant frequency of the power amplifier, the feedback mechanism adjusts the frequency of operation closer to the resonant frequency of the power amplifier. The at least one load can have a variable impedance, though embodiments are not limited thereto. | 11-27-2014 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20100056643 | CHEMICALLY INDUCED INTRACELLULAR HYPERTHERMIA - An invention relating to therapeutic pharmacological agents and methods to chemically induce intracellular hyperthermia and/or free radicals for the diagnosis and treatment of infections, malignancy and other medical conditions. The invention relates to a process and composition for the diagnosis or killing of cancer cells and inactivation of susceptible bacterial, parasitic, fungal, and viral pathogens by chemically generating heat, and/or free radicals and/or hyperthermia-inducible immunogenic determinants by using mitochondrial uncoupling agents, especially 2,4 dinitrophenol and, their conjugates, either alone or in combination with other drugs, hormones, cytokines and radiation. | 03-04-2010 |
20150056160 | CHEMICALLY INDUCED INTRACELLULAR HYPERTHERMIA - An invention relating to therapeutic pharmacological agents and methods to chemically induce intracellular hyperthermia and/or free radicals for the diagnosis and treatment of infections, malignancy and other medical conditions. The invention relates to a process and composition for the diagnosis or killing of cancer cells and inactivation of susceptible bacterial, parasitic, fungal, and viral pathogens by chemically generating heat, and/or free radicals and/or hyperthermia—inducible immunogenic determinants by using mitochondrial uncoupling agents, especially 2,4 dinitrophenol and, their conjugates, either alone or in combination with other drugs, hormones, cytokines and radiation. | 02-26-2015 |