University System of Maryland

Gary W Rubloff

Sang Bok Lee

Reza Ghodssi

Hyunmin Yi

Li-Qun Wu

William E Bentley

Gregory F Payne

Israel Perez

Parag Banerjee

Laurent Lecordier

Rohan Fernandes

Liangbing Hu

Douglas Stephen English

Xinyi Chen

Wolfgang Losert

Tianhong Chen

Raymond A Adomaitis

Marshall A Schroeder

Erin Robertson

Chanyuan Liu

David A Small

Malakhi Noked

Jung Jin Park

Mark Joseph Kastantin

Eleanor Gillette

Sheng Li

Theresa Michelle Valentine

John N Kidder, Jr

Alexander C Kozen

Keith Gregorczyk

A solid-state device includes a substrate with a stack of constituent thin-film layers that define an arrangement of electrodes and intervening layers. The constituent layers can conform to or follow a non-planar surface of the substrate, thereby providing a 3-D non-planar geometry to the stack. Fabrication employs a common shadow mask moved between lateral positions offset from each other to sequentially form at least some of the layers in the stack, whereby layers with a similar function (e.g., anode, cathode, etc.) can be electrically connected together at respective edge regions. Wiring layers can be coupled to the edge regions for making electrical connection to the respective subset of layers, thereby simplifying the fabrication process. By appropriate selection and deposition of the constituent layers, the multi-layer device can be configured as an energy storage device, an electro-optic device, a sensing device, or any other solid-state device.

Multi-layer solid-state devices and methods for forming the same

A protection layer is formed on a highly-reactive substantially-pure metal anode to a thickness of between 1 nm and 200 nm, inclusive, using atomic layer deposition (ALD). The ALD protection layer allows the conduction of ions of the metal of the anode therethrough but suppresses electron transport therethrough. The ALD protection layer may also be effective to inhibit passage of air and/or water therethrough. The ALD protection layer can allow more relaxed purity requirements for subsequent battery assembly, electrolyte specifications, and/or cathode gas purity. Fabrication methods for the protection layers, protected metal anodes, and systems and devices incorporating such protected metal anodes are also disclosed herein.

Protection layers for metal anodes

An apparatus, system, and method are provided for a vertical two-terminal nanotube or microtube device configured to capture and generate energy, to store electrical energy, and to integrate these functions with power management circuitry. The vertical device can include a column disposed in a template material extending from one side of the template material to the other side of the template material. Further, the device can include a first material disposed within the column, a second material disposed within the column, and a third material disposed in the column. A variety of configurations, variations, and modifications are provided.

Nanodevice arrays for electrical energy storage, capture and management and method for their formation

An apparatus, system, and method are provided for a vertical two-terminal nanotube device configured to capture and generate energy, to store electrical energy, and to integrate these functions with power management circuitry. The vertical nanotube device can include a column disposed in an anodic oxide material extending from a first distal end of the anodic oxide material to a second distal end of the anodic oxide material. Further, the vertical nanotube device can include a first material disposed within the column, a second material disposed within the column, and a third material disposed between the first material and the second material. The first material fills the first distal end of the column and extends to the second distal end of the column along inner walls of the column. The second material fills the first distal end of the column and extends to the second distal end of the column within the first material. Both the first material and the second material are exposed at the first distal end of the column.

An apparatus, system, and method are provided for a lateral two-terminal nanotube device configured to capture and generate energy, to store electrical energy, and to integrate these functions with power management circuitry. The lateral nanotube device can include a substrate, an anodic oxide material disposed on the substrate, and a column disposed in the anodic oxide material extending from one distal end of the anodic oxide material to another end of the anodic oxide material. The lateral nanotube device further can include a first material disposed within the column, and a second material disposed within the column. The first material fills a distal end of the column and gradiently decreases towards another distal end of the column along inner walls of the column. The second material fills the another distal end of the column and gradiently decreases towards the distal end of the column within the first material.

Lateral two-terminal nanotube devices and method for their formation

A method is provided for electrochemically depositing a polysaccharide mass having a selected physical state. According to an embodiment, an electrically conductive support of a substrate is contacted with an aqueous solution including a selectively insolubilizable polysaccharide, and the selectively insolubilizable polysaccharide is electrochemically deposited on the electrically conductive support while controlling deposition conditions to form the polysaccharide mass having the selected physical state, such as that of a hydrogel. Deposition may be performed in a spatially and/or temporally controlled manner. 

Controlled electrochemical deposition of polysaccharide films and hydrogels, and materials formed therefrom

A method for biolithographical deposition of molecules is provided. According to an embodiment of the method, a reactive layer (e.g., a polysaccharide mass) having a surface region coated with a biologically compatible resist is provided. A portion of the biologically compatible resist is selectively removed to expose an exposed portion of the reactive layer. Molecules, such as biomolecules and/or cellular species, are then conjugated to the exposed portion of the reactive layer. Also provided are materials and devices related to the method.

Biolithographical deposition and materials and devices formed therefrom

A method is provided for electrochemically depositing a polymer with spatial selectivity. A substrate having a substrate surface is contacted with an aqueous solution containing a selectively insolubilizable polysaccharide, such as chitosan, which is subjected to electrochemically treatment to deposit, with spatial selectivity, the selectively insolubilizable polysaccharide on a patterned electrically conductive portion of the substrate surface.

Spatially selective deposition of polysaccharide layer onto patterned template

A micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) device is provided, along with means for its fabrication and operation for microfluidic and/or biomicrofluidic applications. The MEMS device includes a substrate, optional electrodes on the substrate, a patterned structure on the substrate, the patterned structure having a fluidic microchannel aligned with one or more of the optional electrodes, an encapsulation membrane covering the microchannel, and an optional reactive layer deposited over the electrode in the microchannel. MEMS devices of preferred embodiments permit a leak-tight seal to be formed around the microchannel and fluidic interconnects established for robust operation of fluidics-based processes. MEMS devices of other preferred embodiments permit reversible attachment and separation of the encapsulation membrane relative to the patterned structure.

Fabrication and integration of polymeric bioMEMS

A multizone, segmented showerhead provides a gas impingement flux distribution which is controllable in two lateral dimensions to achieve programmable uniformity in chemical vapor deposition, in plasma deposition and etching and other processes. Recirculation (pumping) of exhaust gases back through the showerhead reduces intersegment mixing to achieve a high degree of spatial control of the process. This spatial control of the impinging gas flux distribution assures that uniformity can be achieved at process design points selected to optimize materials performance. Spatial control also permits rapid experimentation by enabling the introduction of intentional nonuniformities so that combinatorial data from across the wafer/substrate provides results of simultaneous experiments at different process design points. This ability is useful for process tuning and optimization in manufacturing or for rapid materials and process discovery and optimization in research and development.

Spatially programmable microelectronics process equipment using segmented gas injection showerhead with exhaust gas recirculation

Growing community of inventors

Clarksville, MD, United States of America

Gary W Rubloff