Mainstream Engineering Corporation

Gregory E Chester

Justin J Hill

Ryan D Reeves

Paul E Yelvington

Nicholas R Schwartz

Anna P Skinner

Adam J Duzik

An apparatus is disclosed for a flexible, easily reconfigured vacuum chamber capable of physical property measurement at cryogenic temperatures. The chamber is easily constructed from existing cryogenic pumps. The cryostat cold finger forms a cryogenically-cooled stage, upon which a wide variety of experiment test setups can be placed for measuring many different properties at cryogenic temperatures. The lid and feedthrough ports are reconfigurable to obtain measurements and interact with samples inside the vacuum. Attached heating elements enable testing at many possible cryogenic temperatures. The specific case of laser cooling at cryogenic temperatures is presented as an example, along with necessary lid and interior components. Viewports allow a laser beam into the chamber, while mirrors redirect this into the sample. Temperature diodes and laser power meters measure any heating or cooling effects.

Cryogenic property test platform

A process is disclosed for cooling a material that includes semiconductor nanoparticles in matrix material by anti-Stokes up-conversion. The semiconductor nanoparticle matrix is irradiated by a laser with a photonic wavelength matched to the anti-Stokes photoluminescence of the semiconductor nanoparticle bandgap. The semiconductor nanoparticles absorb the laser photon and phonons (heat) from lattice vibrations to photoluminescence photons with higher energy than the photon that were absorbed. A net cooling effect is generated from the lower energy and lower temperature in the material after anti-Stoke up-conversion.

Method for optical cooling through semiconductor nanoparticle anti-stokes photoluminescence

Method for optical cooling through semiconductor nanoparticle anti-stokes photoluminescene

A method encapsulates nanoscale material by producing a suspension of the nanostructure material in a first solvent using a micelle surrounding the nanostructure material. The micelle surrounding the suspended nanostructure material is swollen by adding to and mixing with the suspension an immiscible phase second solvent containing a precursor. The precursor is then reduced by adding a reducing reactant selectively soluble in the first solvent that reacts to the precursor containing reactant selectively solvated in the second solvent to encapsulate the nanostructure material. A metal-nanostructure composite can be provided by collecting and mixing the metal-shell encapsulated nanostructure product produced by the aforementioned method into a metal matrix.

Metal-encapsulated carbon nanotubes and method for producding such carbon nanotubes via solvent shell reactions with metallic ions

Method for optical cooling through semiconductor nanoparticle anti-Stokes photoluminescene

A reactor and method for seeded growth of nano-products such as carbon nanotubes, wires and filaments in which selected precursors are introduced into the reactor which is heated to a temperature sufficient to induce nano-product formation from interaction between the precursor gases and a nanopore templated catalyst. The selected precursors are segregated in the reactor through a plate defining two chambers which are sealed off from each other except for a void space provided in the plate. The void space is closed off by a membrane having nanopores and a catalyst formed as a layer. Atomic transfer of material from the selected precursors to form the nano-products on the catalyst layer in the other of the chambers occurs by diffusion through the catalyst layer to form the nano-product on the other of the chambers absent a pressure drop between the two chambers.

Segregated flow reactor and method for growth of ultra-long carbon nanotubes

A novel high-density hydrogen and other gas storage material has been fabricated and enhanced to provide the opportunity to use hydrogen as a predominant energy source by using hierarchical and ordered nanoporous materials to provide a solution to the shortcomings of current storage technologies. These materials consist of high aspect ratio porous templates with aligned and periodic nanocapillaries that have a tunable density, diameter, and wall thickness. Not only is the disclosed process low-cost and scalable, but catalytic fabrication of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) within the nanocapillaries is achieved, thereby yielding coaxial nanocapillary arrays for physical and adsorbed hydrogen storage with ultra-high gravimetric and volumetric hydrogen storage densities.

Dense storage of hydrogen and other gases in fast fabricated, hierarchically structured nanocapillary arrays through adsorption and compression by electrochemical and other means

Nanostructured elements and a method for fabricating such nanostructured elements with an enhanced power and aerial power density are disclosed. A hierarchical template with ordered and arrayed nanopores is produced on either a mating part or a support material that is pre-shaped so as to be conformable to the mating part. At least one compound can be optionally layered within the nanopores to reduce the diameter thereof. The template is supplied with filling material having selected electrical or thermoelectric properties. Selective removal of the template produces freestanding nanostructure arrays which are then backfilled with thermoelectric material or the like to form a nanostructure array comprised of nanowires supported by the backfilled material on the substrate.

Nanostructured thermoelectric laminates and a method to enhance the power factor and aerial power density of such thermoelectric laminates based on vertically oriented and densly arrayed nanowires

Growing community of inventors

Rockledge, FL, United States of America

Gregory E Chester