Nanoscale mass conveyors

Chemistry: electrical and wave energy – Processes and products – Electrophoresis or electro-osmosis processes and electrolyte...

Reexamination Certificate

Rate now

  [ 0.00 ] – not rated yet Voters 0   Comments 0

Details

C204S600000, C977S962000

Reexamination Certificate

active

07341651

ABSTRACT:
A mass transport method and device for individually delivering chargeable atoms or molecules from source particles is disclosed. It comprises a channel; at least one source particle of chargeable material fixed to the surface of the channel at a position along its length; a means of heating the channel; and a means for applying an controllable electric field along the channel, whereby the device transports the atoms or molecules along the channel in response to applied electric field. In a preferred embodiment, the mass transport device will comprise a multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWNT), although other one dimensional structures may also be used. The MWNT or other structure acts as a channel for individual or small collections of atoms due to the atomic smoothness of the material. Also preferred is a source particle of a metal such as indium. The particles move by dissociation into small units, in some cases, individual atoms. The particles are preferably less than 100 nm in size.

REFERENCES:
patent: 5413866 (1995-05-01), Baker et al.
patent: 5458784 (1995-10-01), Baker et al.
patent: 5653951 (1997-08-01), Rodriguez et al.
patent: 6159538 (2000-12-01), Rodriguez et al.
patent: 6773616 (2004-08-01), Chen et al.
patent: 7077939 (2006-07-01), Crooks et al.
patent: 2002/0004136 (2002-01-01), Gao et al.
patent: 2002/0179434 (2002-12-01), Dai et al.
patent: 2003/0068432 (2003-04-01), Dai et al.
patent: 2003/0190278 (2003-10-01), Wang et al.
patent: 2004/0004212 (2004-01-01), Crespi et al.
patent: 2004/0110003 (2004-06-01), Cumings et al.
patent: 2004/0239210 (2004-12-01), Pinkerton et al.
patent: 2005/0017598 (2005-01-01), Zettl et al.
patent: 2003-102472 (2003-04-01), None
Lee et al. (Electromodulated Molecular Transport in Gold-Nanotube membranes, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2002, 124, 11850-11851).
Pennathur et al. (ElectrokineticTransport in Nanochannels. 1. Theory, Analytical Chemistry, vol. 77, No. 21, Nov. 1, 2005).
JPO English language translation of JP 2003-102472 A, published Apr. 8, 2003 (Osamu et al.).
Cho, S. K. et al., “Creating, transporting, cutting and merging liquid droplets by electrowetting-based actuation for digital microfluidic circuits,” J. Microelectro. Systems, Feb. 2003, pp. 70-80, vol. 12(1).
Choi, H. C. et al., “Spontaneous reduction of metal ions on the sidewalls of carbon nanotubes,” J. Am. Chem. Soc., May 2002, pp. 9058-9059, vol. 124(31).
Gao, Y. et al., “Temperature measurement using a gallium-filled carbon nanotube nanothermometer,” Appl. Phys. Lett., Oct. 2003, pp. 2913-2915.
Hafner, J. et al., “Growth of nanotubes for probe microscopy tips,” Nature, Apr. 1999 pp. 761-762, vol. 398.
Freemantile, M. et al., “Polymer oled efficiency boost,” C & EN, May 2004, p. 9.
Kim, P. et al., “Thermal transport measurements of individual multiwalled nanotubes,” The American Phys. Soc., Nov. 2001, pp. 215502-1-215502-4, vol. 87(2).
Koch, C. et al., “Modelling of HREM and nanodiffraction for dislocation kinks and core reconstruction,” J. Phys., Sep. 2000, pp. 10175-10183.
Park, H. et al., “Fabrication of metallic electrodes with nanometer separation by electromigration,” Appl. Phys. Lett., Jul. 1999, pp. 301-303, vol. 75(2).
Regan, B.C. et al., “Carbon nanotubes as nanoscale mass conveyors,” Nature, Apr. 2004, pp. 924-927, vol. 428.
Regan, B.C. et al., “Nanowicks: Nanotubes as Tracks for Mass Transfer,” Am. Ins. of Physics Conference Proceedings 685(1), Oct. 2003, pp. 612-615.
Syms, R.R.A. et al., “Surface tension-powered self-assembly of microstructures—the state-of-the-art,” J. Microelecto. Systems, Aug. 2003, pp. 387-417, vol. 12(4).
Teo, K.B.K. et al., “Fabrication and electrical characteristics of carbon nanotube-based microcathodes for use in a parallel electron-beam lithography system,” J. Vac. Sci. Technol. Mar./Apr. 2003, pp. 693-697, vol. 21(2).
Tseng, Y. et al., “Monolithic integration of carbon nanotube devices with silicon MOS technology,” Nano Lett., 2004, pp. 123-127, vol. 4(1).
Regan, B.C. et al., “Nanowicks: nanotubes as templates for mass transfer,” ABSTRACT, #N26.008, published by American Physical Society in late 2003.
International Search Report and Written Opinion of the International Searching Authority received in Intl. Appln. No. PCT/US05/09489, mailed Feb. 13, 2007.
CD of a Video presentation given at Mar. 2003 APS meeting, presented by Brian C. Regan.

LandOfFree

Say what you really think

Search LandOfFree.com for the USA inventors and patents. Rate them and share your experience with other people.

Rating

Nanoscale mass conveyors does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.

If you have personal experience with Nanoscale mass conveyors, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Nanoscale mass conveyors will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

     

Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3963294

  Search
All data on this website is collected from public sources. Our data reflects the most accurate information available at the time of publication.