Massachusetts Institute of Technology

International Business Machines Corporation

United States of America As Represented by the Secretary of the Air Force

Cornell Research Foundation Inc.

Edwin Lorimer Thomas

Yoel Fink

John Dimitris Joannopoulos

Daniel Alcazar Jorba

Voya Rista Markovich

Shanhui Fan

Perminder S Bindra

Jeffrey McKeveny

Chiping Chen

Robert E Ruane

Joseph Walish

Dennis A Canfield

Youngjong Kang

Ramon J Albalak

Jonathan Phillip Singer

Robert Dennis Miller

Timothy Manning Swager

Kishor V Desai

Christopher Kemper Ober

David Erle Houser

Mihai Ibanescu

Victor Y Lee

Thomas G Macek

Patrick Seamus Doyle

Cheolmin Park

Anne M Mayes

Nikos Hadjichristidis

Jae-Hwang Lee

Maganlal S Patel

Richard Jay Morenus

Douglas J Hall

Pao Tai Lin

Dhananjay Dendukuri

Yung-Hoon Ha

Steven E Kooi

Claudio DeRosa

Bernard Lotz

Jongsesung Yoon

Lin Jia

Cheong Yang Koh

Nicholas T Tsui

Ji-Hyun Jang

Chaitanya K Ullal

Vanessa Z H Chan

John Francis Rabolt

Richard C Frisbie

Apostolos Avgeropoulos

Robert F Langley

Ion Bita

Michael Fasolka

The present invention provides polymeric materials arranged as photonic crystals, or portions of photonic crystals, having properties which can be easily tuned over a large range of wavelengths upon exposure to an external stimulus. In some embodiments, the photonic crystals comprise at least one portion which can undergo a change in a physical, chemical, dielectric, or other property upon exposure to an altering stimulus, resulting in a change in a diffracted wavelength of electromagnetic radiation (e.g, light) by the photonic crystal. Embodiments of the invention may advantageously exhibit large stop band tunability and rapid response times. Photonic crystals of the invention may be useful in a wide variety of applications, such as colorimetric sensors, active components of simple display devices, electrically controlled tunable optically pumped laser, photonic switches, multiband filters, and the like.

Broad wavelength range chemically tunable photonic materials

A method for lithographic patterning of thin films. A thin film is deposited on a substrate and the film is exposed to optical energy from a focused laser to induce a thermal gradient in the film by optical absorption. The film is softened through a melting or glass transition process and the thermal gradient induces a directional dewetting down the thermal gradient. The invention permits developer free positive tone lithography by thermal direct write and also metrology of the thin film by the morphology of the resultant features.

Developer free positive tone lithography by thermal direct write

Method for making a liquid foam from graphene. The method includes preparing an aqueous dispersion of graphene oxide and adding a water miscible compound to the aqueous dispersion to produce a mixture including a modified form of graphene oxide. A second immiscible fluid (a gas or a liquid) with or without a surfactant are added to the mixture and agitated to form a fluid/water composite wherein the modified form of graphene oxide aggregates at the interfaces between the fluid and water to form either a closed or open cell foam. The modified form of graphene oxide is the foaming agent.

Foams of graphene, method of making and materials made thereof

Broad wavelength range chemically-tunable photonic materials

2-pattern photonic crystal and the associated photonic devices are described here. A 2-pattern photonic crystal has a large, complete photonic band gap. It includes a TM sub-structure providing a large TM photonic band gap superimposed on a TE sub-structure providing a large TE photonic band gap. The resulting 2-pattern photonic crystals have complete photonic band gaps larger than 15%. By altering the respective sub-structures, optical devices for different polarizations (TE, TM or both) can be readily designed, and those optical devices can be integrated on the same plane.

2-pattern compound photonic crystals with a large, complete photonic band gap

A methodology for designing structured metamaterials that can reflect, absorb and focus the propagation of both scalar acoustic and vector elastic waves is described. Three exemplary representative inventions based on the disclosed invention are described, illustrating i) compact ultra-wide broadband isolation, ii) sub-wavelength gaps and negative index propagation utilizing a single material platform, and iii) a fundamentally new method of producing multiple high frequency spectral gaps. Such metamaterial designs possess a wide range of potential applications, ranging from but not limited to, isolating an entity from external mechanical or acoustical vibrations, compact focusing lenses as well as cascaded high frequency filters for wave shaping and nonlinear wave propagation control.

Phononic metamaterials for vibration isolation and focusing of elastic waves

Lithographic Method. The method fabricates complex structures and includes depositing a photoresist onto a substrate, the photoresist including a predominantly thermal band of optical absorption possibly due to the incorporation of a doping agent. A three-dimensional pattern is generated within the resist using a first wavelength of light to effect activation of a photoinitiator to produce a latently photostructured resist. Focused laser spike annealing of the photostructured resist with a second wavelength of light selected to be absorbed by the thermally absorbing band to accelerate the photoinduced reaction in the resist is provided. Three-dimensional direct writing may be performed within the resist to define features not part of the interference pattern and the resist is developed to produce the complex structure.

Hybrid lithographic method for fabricating complex multidimensional structures

The present invention relates to polymeric materials having enhanced properties. In some cases, the materials may comprise polymers having shape-persistent portions which may enhance the mechanical properties of the material. The materials may exhibit higher stiffness or strength and ductility values, resulting in higher energy absorption and enhanced protection, as well as, longer lifetimes for product usage. In some cases, the materials may be optically transparent and lightweight, making them suitable for various applications including protective materials.

Protective polymeric materials and related devices

Stop flow interference lithography system for high throughput synthesis of 3-dimensionally patterned polymer particles. The system includes a microfluidic channel containing a stationary oligomer film and a phase mask located adjacent to the microfluidic channel. A source of collimated light is provided for passing the collimated light through the phase mask and into the microfluidic channel for interaction with the oligomer. The passage of the collimated light through the phase mask generates a 3-dimensional distribution of light intensity to induce crosslinking of the oligomer in high intensity regions thereby forming 3-dimensional structures.

Stop flow interference lithography system

The current invention involves periodically ordered nanostructured materials and methods of using and modifying the materials. In some embodiments, the invention provides periodically structured microphase separated polymeric articles that include periodically occurring separate domains. The polymeric species comprising one or more of the domains, for some embodiments, contains an inorganic species capable of forming an inorganic oxide ceramic. In another aspect, the invention provides methods for modifying the polymeric articles by oxidation and/or radiation to form periodically structured porous and relief articles that, in some embodiments, include a ceramic oxide in their structure. The invention also provides methods of use for the novel articles and novel structures constructed utilizing the articles.

Periodic porous and relief nanostructured articles

Methods are provided for producing a shrunken replica or a shrunken inverse replica of a multicontinuous structure. In one embodiment, the method comprises (1) infiltrating a first multicontinuous structure with a first fluid material which can be immobilized and shrunken, wherein the first multicontinuous structure comprises at least a first phase and a second phase which is immiscible with the first phase, and the infiltration displaces the second phase in the first multicontinuous structure to form a second multicontinuous structure which comprises at least the first phase and a third phase which consists of the first fluid material; (2) immobilizing the infiltrated first fluid material in the second multicontinuous structure; (3) removing the first phase from the second multicontinuous structure; and (4) shrinking (e.g., by a pyrolysis process) the third phase of the second multicontinuous structure, to produce an isotropically shrunken inverse replica of the first multicontinuous structure.

Cyclic shrinkage of a templated 3D network material

A structured material is disclosed with magneto-gyrotropic characteristics including at least one continuous structurally-chiral material. The structured material has an electric permittivity and a magnetic permeability at least one of which varies within the structured material along a first direction in a repetitious fashion wherein a repetition unit includes a chiral component and is at least 25 nm in length. The structured material exhibits non-reciprocal electromagnetic wave propagation velocity characteristics along a second direction that includes a non-zero component along the first direction.

Structurally chiral materials exhibiting magneto-gyrotropy

A method and apparatus for orientation of block copolymer microdomains via rapid solidification. Rapid solidification from a solvent may include directional solidification and/or epitaxy to form patterns of microdomains in a film of block copolymer. Microdomains may include various structures formed by components of a block copolymer, such as vertical lamellae, in-plane cylinders, and vertical cylinders, and may depend on film thickness. Orientation of structures in microdomains may be controlled to be approximately uniform, and spatial arrangement of microdomains may be controlled.

Large area orientation of block copolymer microdomains in thin films

A materials system or dielectric structure, for example a photonic crystal, of the invention includes a plurality of materials that are biocompatible. The materials have different indices of refraction for the wavelength of operation and are assembled into a dielectric structure having a photonic band gap in one or more directions. The assembly process yields a structure with a particular spatial arrangement of materials with different indices of refraction which is completely biocompatible and has the property of reflecting light at a particular predetermined range of frequencies, as well as other properties associated with photonic band gaps. These structures can exhibit photonic band gaps that can be engineered to be broad or narrow and be centered on different parts of the spectrum UV, visible IR or longer wavelengths. The materials used can have microwave transparency or be made to reflect microwaves. Possible applications include edible reflectors for visible to impart a particular color to the food or specular appearance, heat shields to minimize radiative and evaporative and convective heat losses, and as a UV protection layer.

Biocompatible photonic crystals

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Natick, MA, United States of America

Edwin Lorimer Thomas