3M Innovative Properties Company

Jaewon Kim

Dipankar Ghosh

Ronald David Jesme

Mohsen Salehi

Stephen J Etzkorn

Andrew P Bonifas

Justin M Johnson

Brock A Hable

Nicholas G Amell

Craig W Lindsay

John Allen Wheatley

Matthew S Stay

Guanglei Du

Bharat R Acharya

Myungchan Kang

Jeffrey M Maki

Douglas Scott Dunn

Derek J Dehn

Robert A Sainati

Brett J Sitter

Yong K Wu

Bradley L Givot

Douglas B Gundel

Robert A Astle

Raymond Patrick Johnston

William A Mittelstadt

Kui Chen-Ho

Joseph Clark Carls

Kevin W Gotrik

Charles David Hoyle

Haiyan Zhang

Michael A McCoy

Susannah C Clear

Jonathan Dale Gandrud

Badri Veeraraghavan

Christian Weinmann

William C Egbert

Katherine A Brown

Terrence H Joyce

David V Mahoney

Sithya S Khieu

Kenneth A P Meyer

Huijie Xie

Andrew Bonifas

Jeffrey A Tostenrude

Swagata R Banerjee

John J Sullivan

Zhiguo Wen

Jingfei Chen

Gregory L Abraham

Joel S Peiffer

Zohaib Hameed

Jennifer J Sokol

Christopher D Sebesta

Zhe Hu

Fan Long

Jung-Ju Suh

Zulfiqar A Khan

Michael D Benson

Xeutao Yu

Matthew C Messina

Zhonghua Lu

Robert E Astle

A film includes a polymeric material and a plurality of particles dispersed therein. The polymeric material includes a plurality of elongate polymeric elements oriented along substantially a same first direction and interconnecting the particles. A ratio of a volume of the plurality of particles to a volume of the polymeric material is at least 5. An elongate portion of at least a first elongate polymeric element in the plurality of elongate polymeric elements may conform to and be bonded to a first particle in the plurality of particles along an entire length of the elongate portion. The first elongate polymeric element may extend from the elongate portion at least to a second particle in the plurality of particles.

Film including polymeric elements interconnecting particles

Gradient permittivity films are described. In particular, gradient permittivity films that include a first continuous matrix of a first component having a first relative permittivity and a second component disposed within the continuous matrix having a second relative permittivity. The first permittivity is greater than the second permittivity for at least one wavelength between 20 GHz and 300 GHz. Such films may be useful in improving the signal to noise ratio for transmitting and receiving units behind a protective cover.

Gradient permittivity film

A device is described having one or more conductive loops to produce an electromagnetic field, such as for wireless power transfer to an electronic device. In some examples, an antenna is used with at least one resonating capacitor ring that is relatively co-planar with the antenna, and that is magnetically coupled to the antenna but is not electrically powered by an external source. In addition, a device is described having two or more thin-film coils, each coil comprising a pair of terminals and at least one loop defining a plane and an interior region. In some examples, the planes of the two or more coils are disposed substantially parallel to one another, the interior regions of the two or more coils at least partially overlap one another, and the pairs of terminals of the antennae are electrically connected in parallel.

Wireless power transfer

An optical stack () includes a substrate (), a radio-wave anti-reflection sheet () configured to reduce reflection from the optical stack () of radio waves at a predetermined operating frequency (f), and a visible light reflective, infrared light transmissive multilayer optical film () disposed between the radio-wave anti-reflection sheet () and the substrate (). For radiation substantially normally incident on the radio-wave anti-reflection sheet () and for a first frequency range at least 20 GHZ wide, centered on the predetermined operating frequency (f), and disposed between about 1 GHZ and about 120 GHZ, a return loss of the optical stack () is asymmetric about the predetermined operating frequency (f) in the first frequency range. The optical stack () has a largest return loss SL in the first frequency range of less than −10 dB and a difference between the largest return loss SL and a smallest return loss SS in the first frequency range is less than about 2 dB.

Optical stack including multilayer optical film and radio-wave anti-reflection sheet

A patterned article includes a unitary polymeric layer and a plurality of electrically conductive elements embedded at least partially in the unitary polymeric layer. Each electrically conductive element includes a conductive seed layer having a top major surface and an opposite bottom major surface in direct contact with the unitary polymeric layer, and includes a metallic body disposed on the top major surface of the conductive seed layer. The metallic body has a bottom major surface and at least one sidewall. The bottom major surface contacts the conductive seed layer. Each sidewall is in direct contact with the unitary polymeric layer and extends from the bottom major surface of the metallic body toward or to, but not past, a top major surface of the unitary polymeric layer. The conductive elements may be electrically isolated from one another. Processes for making the patterned article are described.

Patterned article including electrically conductive elements

This disclosure relates generally to radar retroreflective articles comprising one or more dielectric layers adjacent to a reflective layer, wherein the dielectric layer or layers aids in increasing the radar cross section of the radar retroreflective articles.

Radar retroreflective article

A radar-optical fusion article for attachment to a substrate is described. The radar-optical fusion article includes a first retroreflective layer which is configured to retroreflect at least a portion of light having a wavelength in a range from about 400 nm to about 2500 nm. The radar-optical fusion article includes a second retroreflective layer disposed adjacent to the first retroreflective layer. The second retroreflective layer is configured to retroreflect at least a portion of an electromagnetic wave having a frequency in the range from about 0.5 GHz to about 100 GHz.

Radar-optical fusion article and system

A film includes a polymeric material and a plurality of particles dispersed therein. The polymeric material includes a plurality of elongate polymeric elements oriented along substantially a same first direction and interconnecting the particles. An elongate end portion of at least a first elongate polymeric element in the plurality of elongate polymeric elements conforms and is bonded to a first particle in the plurality of particles along an entire length of the elongate end portion. An elongate mid portion of at least a second elongate polymeric element in the plurality of elongate polymeric elements conforms and is bonded to a second particle in the plurality of particles along an entire length of the elongate mid portion with the second elongate polymeric element extending away from the second particle from opposite ends of the elongate mid portion. Multilayer films and processes are also described.

A thermally conductive electromagnetically absorbing material includes a plurality of particles dispersed in a binder. The plurality of particles can have a particle size distribution having at least three peaks, where at least a majority of particles within a half width at half maximum of one, but not the other ones, of the at least three peaks are at least partially coated with an electromagnetically absorbing coating. The plurality of particles can include pluralities of first and second particles where a total number of the first particles is at most 1% of a total number of the first and second particles and where the first particles are more electromagnetically absorbing than the second particles. Films, molded articles and systems including the thermally conductive electromagnetically absorbing material are described.

Thermally conductive electromagnetically absorptive material

A gradient permittivity film comprises (a) a first permittivity layer comprising a first continuous matrix of a first material having a first relative permittivity (ε) and a second component having a second relative permittivity (ε) dispersed in the first continuous matrix, the first permittivity layer having a first effective layer relative permittivity (ε) and a thickness (T); And (b) a second permittivity layer having a second effective layer relative permittivity (ε) and a thickness (T) disposed on the first permittivity layer. T=0.8(t) to 1.2(t), where

Gradient permittivity films are described. In particular, gradient permittivity films including a plurality of layers each having a thickness where at least one layer is perforated and has a different air volume fraction from another of the plurality of layers by at least 0.05. Such films may be useful in improving the signal to noise ratio for transmitting and receiving units operating between 20 GHz and 300 GHz behind a protective cover.

Radar standing wave dampening systems and components are described. In particular, systems and components including an absorber composite including at least one of ceramic filler, magnetic filler, or conductive filler materials are described. Such components can reduce the intensity of standing waves and may also be combined in systems with one or more gradient permittivity tapes or films.

Radar standing wave dampening components and systems

A waveguide for receiving an incident electromagnetic wave (EMW) having an operating frequency &#x393; includes an array of spaced apart unit cells arranged along the waveguide. The unit cells are configured to resonantly couple to the incident EMW and radiate an EMW at the operating frequency propagating inside and along the waveguide. Each unit cell is configured to couple to the incident EMW with a first coupling efficiency and includes a dielectric body configured to couple to the incident EMW with a second coupling efficiency and one or more metal layers disposed on and partially covering the dielectric body. The second coupling efficiency is substantially smaller than the first coupling efficiency. A communication system includes the waveguide and a transceiver configured to emit an EMW having the operating frequency &#x393;.

Waveguide and communication system

A gradient permittivity film comprises (a) a first permittivity layer comprising a first continuous matrix of a first material having a first relative permittivity (&#x3b5;) and a second component having a second relative permittivity (&#x3b5;) dispersed in the first continuous matrix, the first permittivity layer having a first effective layer relative permittivity (&#x3b5;) and a thickness (T); and (b) a second permittivity layer having a second effective layer relative permittivity (&#x3b5;) and a thickness (T) disposed on the first permittivity layer T=0.8(t) to 1.2(t), where t=(I); T=0.8(t) to 1.2 (T), where T=(II). 

A waveguide and a communication system including the waveguide are described. The waveguide is configured to propagate an electromagnetic wave having an operating frequency along the waveguide. The waveguide includes a substrate having a first dielectric constant, and an array of spaced apart unit cells at least partially embedded in the substrate and arranged along the waveguide. Each of a plurality of the unit cells in the array of spaced apart unit cells has a first transmission parameter S21 having a lowest resonant frequency &#x393;1 and includes a dielectric body and one or more electrically conductive layers disposed on and partially covering the dielectric body. The dielectric body has a second dielectric constant greater than the first dielectric constant at the operating frequency and has a second transmission parameter S21 having a lowest resonant frequency &#x393;2 greater than &#x393;1.

Growing community of inventors

Woodbury, MN, United States of America

Jaewon Kim