University of Colorado

Superconducting Core Technologies, Inc.

Other

University Patents, Inc.

University Research Corporation

Synergos, Lllp

Frank S Barnes

Allen M Hermann

John C Price

Robert M Yandrofski

James F Scott

E David Crawford

Priya N Werahera

John Daily

M Scott Lucia

Adrie Van Bokhoven

Matthew P Dugas

Richard B Hoffman

Richard Frey

Alfred L Clark

Harry F Jordan

Norman W Baer

Tom Gormley

Methods and systems for in vivo classification of tissue are disclosed. The tissue is irradiated with light from multiple light sources and light scattered and fluoresced from the tissue is received. Distinct emissions of the sample are identified from the received light. An excitation-emission matrix is generated (). On-diagonal and off-diagonal components of the excitation-emission matrix are identified (). Spectroscopic measures are derived from the excitation-emission matrix (), and are compared to a database of known spectra () permitting the tissue to be classified as benign or malignant (). An optical biopsy needle or an optical probe may be used to contemporaneously classify and sample tissue for pathological confirmation of diagnosis.

Multi-excitation diagnostic system and methods for classification of tissue

A method of preparing cellulosic biomass material for subsequent processing first comprises moving at least one stream of biomass material along a flow path. Then, the stream of cellulosic biomass material can be explosively dried and pulverized to disrupt lignocellulosic bonds, and to reduce a moisture content and a particle size of the cellulosic biomass material. Then, the stream of cellulosic biomass material can be electrically degraded the stream of cellulosic biomass material to disrupt lignocellulosic bonds. Additional pre-treatment and post-treatment processes can also be included.

System and method of preparing pre-treated biorefinery feedstock from raw and recycled waste cellulosic biomass

Methods and systems for in vivo classification of tissue are disclosed. The tissue is irradiated with light from multiple light sources and light scattered and fluoresced from the tissue is received. Distinct emissions of the sample are identified from the received light. An excitation emission matrix is generated (). On-diagonal and off diagonal components of the excitation emission matrix are identified (). Spectroscopic measures are derived from the excitation emission matrix (), and are compared to a database of known spectra () permitting the tissue to be classified as benign or malignant (). An optical biopsy needle or an optical probe may be used to contemporaneously classify and sample tissue for pathological confirmation of diagnosis.

A vehicle tire inspection apparatus includes a flat plate, a flexible bladder containing a quantity of fluid, and transducers on the plate. The plate is made of a transparent yieldable resilient bendable material capable of transmitting an inflated vehicle tire footprint and of undergoing a deflection in response to the supported weight on the tire applied thereon. The bladder is supported on the top side of the plate and has an upper opaque portion of a first color, a lower transparent portion and an enclosed interior cavity. The fluid contained within the cavity is of a second color different from the first color of the upper bladder portion. The fluid is displaceable within the bladder as the upper bladder portion is forced toward the lower bladder portion when the tire is applied upon the upper bladder portion so as to create an image of the footprint of the tire viewable on the bottom side of the plate by contrast between the second color of the fluid viewable where a tread of the tire does not press the upper bladder portion against the lower bladder portion on the top side of the plate and the first color of the opaque material of the upper bladder portion viewable where the tread of the tire presses the upper bladder portion against the lower bladder portion on the top side of the plate. The transducers are attached to the bottom side of the plate and undergo deformations proportional to the deflection of the plate and produce electrical signals proportional to the deformations.

Apparatus and method for inspecting inflation of and supported weight on

The present invention relates to a tuneable fringe effect capacitor for conducting radio frequency energy. The capacitor includes a thin film of ferroelectric material, a pair of films of a conductive material deposited on the ferroelectric film with a gap between the films, and a substrate for the ferroelectric material and the conductive films. The capacitance value across the gap is varied by applying a voltage to the ferroelectric material and thereby altering the dielectric constant of the ferroelectric material.

Tuneable microwave devices including fringe effect capacitor

The disclosure relates to a phased array antenna for microwave and millimeter wave applications, using either microstrip line, coplanar waveguide, or other construction techniques incorporating a solid dielectric transmission line. A continuously variable phase delay structure which is used to control the beam pattern of the phased array antenna can be applied to the construction of resonant frequency tunable coplanar waveguide antennas and impedance tunable quarter-wave transformers. A thin film of barium strontium titanate (Ba.sub.x Sr.sub.1-x TiO.sub.3) or other nonlinear material such as PbZr.sub.x Ti.sub.1-x O.sub.3 (PZT), LiNbO.sub.3, etc. is deposited upon the coplanar waveguide, and/or the patch antenna element. The dielectric constant of the thin film can be made to vary significantly by applying a DC voltage to the thin film. The propagation constant of a transmission line is directly proportional to the square root of the effective dielectric constant (assuming a lossless dielectric). In an array of multiple antenna elements provided with the feed structure using the disclosed transmission lines, the direction of the resultant main beam of the array can be made to vary over a complete half-sphere with only two adjustable DC voltages applied to the dielectric thin films.

Phased array antenna system including a coplanar waveguide feed

The disclosure relates to ferroelectric and superconducting thin films used in combination to produce low-loss passive microwave and millimeter wave devices which are frequency tuneable. Various metal oxide superconducting and ferroelectric thin films can be deposited in numerous multilayer geometries via a variety of deposition techniques to produce devices which can manipulate microwave and millimeter wave signals through the application of voltage bias signals across the ferroelectric films. Numerous superconducting microwave and millimeter wave devices, including delay lines, phase shifters, resonators, oscillators, filters, electrically-small antennas, half-loop antennas, directional couplers, patch antennas, and various radiative gratings, are made frequency-tuneable by utilizing voltage-tuneable capacitor structures fabricated from voltage-biased ferroelectric thin films. Tuneable antenna arrays are also disclosed incorporating the combined superconducting and ferroelectric thin film structures and geometries which allow for electrical steering of beam patterns by the application of one or more voltage bias signals to ferroelectric thin film gratings.

Tuneable electric antenna apparatus including ferroelectric material

Tuneable microwave devices incorporating high temperature

Amplification and synchronization of photon pulses in optical computing chips is accomplished by placing parametric amplifying devices at predetermined spatial locations in the light conductive paths that make up the optical circuits in the chip. The laser pumping signal for the parametric amplifiers is clocked by a system clock which also clocks the generation of the data photon pulses in the optical circuits. By synchronizing the arrival of a pumping pulse with the arrival of the photon pulse at a parametric amplifier, the data pulse can be amplified, reshaped and resynchronized. The pumping pulse can be directed to the spatially located parametric amplifiers on the chip in a number of different ways. The chip could be masked except for the parametric amplifiers, and the entire chip could be illuminated by the pumping laser though collimating lens. If the chip is not masked, then pumping light must be directed only to the parametric amplifiers. This could be done with a hologram to spatially distribute the light beams to the amplifiers. Alternatively, the beam from the pumping laser could be piped by light conducting fibers to the parametric amplifiers with light pipes. Further, the light pipes for the pumping pulses could be light conducting channels in a second optical chip, or an additional optical circuit layer.

Amplifying and synchronizing signals in optical computing system

In a disk file data storage device wherein a radially movable recording head operates to write/read data relative to a recording disk, an electrically energizable superconductor magnetic suspension system is provided for supporting the head in close flying proximity to the surface to the disk's flat recording surface. The head is force biased away from the recording surface by operation of a spring force. The magnetic suspension system includes a superconducting member and a coil member. The superconducting member and coil member that are mounted in confronting relation, such that electrical energization of the coil member produces a magnetic mirror or Meissner force in opposition to the spring force. Variable energization of the coil member operates to support the head at a controlled flying distance from the recording surface. A stack of disks having a plurality head means and a plurality of superconductor/coil pairs, one pair associated with each recording surface, is disclosed. Operation of the storage device within an evacuated housing is described.

Recording head suspension utilizing superconductor means

Information-bearing signals are stored using high-temperature superconducting materials. Type II semiconductors, such as materials in the perovskite class, are used for recording. A vortex of electrical current is induced in a layer of the super-conductive materials which causing a magnetic field extending from the axis of the vortex. One or more vortices can be used to record one bit of information. The induced magnetic field is sensed for reading the stored information.

Storing information-bearing signals in a superconductive environment

A single blade ice skate is disclosed wherein the ice engaging blade, the toe boot plate and the heel boot plate are formed as a unitary assembly from a flat sheet of metal stock material, with the two boot plates being attached to the blade by way of twisted metal extension portions. In the initial flat state, the blade portion, the two extension portions and the two boot plates occupy a common physical plane. The two extension portions that connect the boot plates to the blade are then twisted 90.degree. in this common plane, and in a manner to place the two boot plates in planes that are normal to the plane of the blade and normal to the common plane of the initial metal stock material. The two boot plates are then bent into a U-shape, so as to provide a U-shaped vertical spring member for each of the boot plates, the spring member acting between the two boot plates and the blade (i.e. a spring member operating in the vertical plane of the blade), while at the same time providing a rigid lateral connection between the plane of the two boot plates and the plane of the blade, thereby rigidly maintaining these planes as normal planes during a skating maneuver.

Unitary skate assembly having vertical spring means

Read/write heads for exchanging information with a magnetic media in either vertical or horizontal recording modes include SQUID detectors coupled to the magnetic flux path of the head. Selective use of superconducting material improves the data interchange operating efficiency of the read/write head and its coils. Magnetic paths associated with head elements are confined and directed by superconducting material to produce compact data with minimal power requirements. Magnetic read/write heads containing Josephson junction or SQUID detectors and which are encased in superconductive material allow high density data recording and highly sensitive data detecting. Data density is also improved by selected application of superconductive material to magnetic read/write heads constructed for perpendicular recording.

Superconductor magnetic reading and writing heads

Superconducting material improves the operating efficiency and reduces the operating power demand for a disk drive suitable for interchanging data with a magnetic or optic medium. The arm containing the head is moved along a path by a balanced superconductor-to-magnetic-field interface such as for radial positioning relative to a circular medium and is maintained in constant spatial relation with respect to the medium by advantageous application of superconductive layers and magnetic field sources. The superconductor environment also permits efficient bearing support for the medium as well as accommodating superconductor motors for driving the medium, and the use of various circuit elements associated with the drive electronics.

Superconductor devices for disk drives

Superconducting material improves the operating efficiency and reduces the operating power demand for a disk drive suitable for interchanging data with a magnetic or optic media. The arm containing the head is moved along a path by a balanced superconductor to magnetic field interface such as for radial positioning relative to a circular media and is maintained in constant spatial relation with respect to the media by advantageous application of superconductive layers and magnetic field sources. The superconductor environment also permits efficient bearing support for the media as well as accommodating superconductor motors for driving the media and the use of various circuit elements associated with the drive electronics.

Growing community of inventors

Boulder, CO, United States of America

Frank S Barnes