Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Kovio, Inc.

Brian N Hubert

Joseph M Jacobson

Joerg Rockenberger

Brent Ridley

Klaus Kunze

Christopher S Gudeman

Fabio R Zurcher

Scott T Haubrich

Alfred Floyd Renaldo

Criswell Choi

Mao Takashima

Chris Gudeman

Chris Spindt

Aggelos Bletsas

Babak Nivi

Colin Bulthaup

Sawyer Fuller

Colin A Bulthaup

Eric J Wilhelm

An all-additive method for direct fabrication of nanometer-scale planar and multilayer structures comprises the steps of acquiring a transferable material with a submillimeter-scale tip, depositing at least a portion of the acquired first transferable material at a predetermined location onto a substrate without a bridging medium, and repeating to create a structure using the transferable material.

Method for direct fabrication of nanostructures

Materials, compounds and compositions for radiation patternable functional thin films, methods of synthesizing such materials and compounds, and methods for forming an electronically functional thin film and structures including such a film. The compounds and compositions generally include (a) nanoparticles of an electronically functional material or substance and (b) ligands containing a (photo)reactive group. The method generally includes the steps of (1) irradiating the compound and/or composition, and (2) curing the irradiated compound and/or composition, generally to form an electronically functional film. The functional thin film includes a sintered mixture of nanoparticles. The thin film exhibits improved morphology and/or resolution relative to an otherwise identical structure made by an identical process, but without the (photo)functional group on the ligand, and/or relative to an otherwise identical material patterned by a conventional graphics art-based printing process. The present process also exhibits improved throughput relative to conventional photolithographic processing, by eliminating a metal deposition step. The present invention advantageously provides functional thin film structures having qualities suitable for use in electronics applications, such as display devices or RF ID tags, while enabling elimination of a number of conventional photolithographic processing steps (e.g., functional material sputtering, PECVD, etc.).

Radiation patternable functional materials, methods of their use, and structures formed therefrom

A method of and device for controlled printing using liquid embossing techniques is disclosed. In accordance with the embodiments of the invention a stamp comprises a differentiated embossing surface with protruding and recessed surfaces to enhance the ability of the stamp to selectively displace liquid ink from a print surface and/or remove solvent from the liquid in a soft curing process. A stamp with differentiated surfaces is fabricated by selectively coating, or otherwise treating the protruding features, the recessed features, or a combination thereof, such that the surface energies and/or wettability of the protruding surfaces and the recessed surfaces are differentiated.

Contact print methods

Micron-scale, self-contained, ultra-high density and ultra-high speed storage devices include a read/write head and a surface, containing bit-storage domains, that acts as the storage medium. The read/write element of the memory device may consist of a single or multiple heads. The read/write head may be mounted on microelectromechanical structures driven at mechanical resonance. Addressing of individual bits is accomplished by positioning of the head element in close proximity to bit domains situated on the storage medium.

High-density mechanical memory and turing machine

Elastomeric stamps facilitate direct patterning of electrical, biological, chemical, and mechanical materials. A thin film of material is deposited on a substrate. The deposited material, either originally present as a liquid or subsequently liquefied, is patterned by embossing at low pressure using an elastomeric stamp having a raised pattern. The patterned liquid is then cured to form a functional layer. The deposition, embossing, and curing steps may be repeated numerous times with the same or different liquids, and in two or three dimensions. The various deposited layers may, for example, have varying electrical characteristics, interacting so as to produce an integrated electronic component.

Fabrication of finely featured devices by liquid embossing

Nanoparticles are utilized to create, through deposition and patterning, functional electronic, electromechanical, and mechanical systems. At sizes ranging from 1 to 999 nm, the ratio of surface atoms to interior atoms becomes non-negligible, and particle properties therefore lie between those of the bulk and atomic materials. Monodisperse (i.e., uniformly sized) or polydisperse nanoparticles can form stable colloids or suspensions in appropriate dispersing media, facilitating their deposition and processing in a liquid state. As a result, printing technology can be utilized to deposit and pattern nanoparticles for mass production or for personal desktop manufacturing.

Nanoparticle-based electrical, chemical, and mechanical structures and methods of making same

Electrically erasable and rewritable memory structures with reversible states and good retention times may be constructed on flexible substrates using simple room-temperature deposition (e.g., printing) processes and curing temperatures below 110.degree. C. The memory structures are based on a polymer matrix having dispersed therein a particulate conductive or semiconductive material. When electrodes of suitable composition and geometry are used to apply electrical pulses of opposite polarity to the matrix material, reversible memory switching behavior is observed. In particular, subjection to positive or negative voltage pulses causes the devices to make fully-reversible transitions between low-resistance and high-resistance states.

Memory structures and methods of making same

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Cambridge, MA, United States of America

Brian N Hubert