National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC

Sandia Corporation

Lauren E S Rohwer

James E Martin

May D Nyman

Kimberly Butler

Dorina Florentina Sava Gallis

Dorina F Sava Gallis

Jacob Ivan Deneff

The invention provides a powerful design strategy towards next-generation, multiplexed, lifetime-encoded tags via engineering intermetallic energy transfer in heterometallic metal-organic frameworks based on nonanuclear metal clusters. Precise manipulation of the luminescence decay dynamics over a wide microsecond regime can be achieved owing to the control over metal ordering in these systems. As an example of the invention, a novel, dynamic double encoding method that uses the braille alphabet was achieved by incorporating the materials into photocurable inks patterned on glass and interrogated via digital high-speed imaging. The facile synthesis and interrogation of these heterometallic metal-organic frameworks having complex and tunable optical properties enables next-generation, multiplexed optical tags.

Tunable rare earth metal-organic frameworks for complex optical tags

Optical tags provide a way to identify assets quickly and unambiguously, an application relevant to anti-counterfeiting and protection of valuable resources or information. The present invention is directed to a tag fluorophore that encodes multilayer complexity in a family of heterometallic rare-earth metal-organic frameworks (RE-MOFs) based on highly connected polynuclear clusters and carboxylic acid-based linkers. Both overt (visible) and covert (near infrared, NIR) properties with concomitant multi-emissive spectra and tunable luminescence lifetimes impart both intricacy and security. Tag authentication can be validated with a variety of orthogonal detection methodologies. The relationships between structure, composition, and optical properties of the family of RE-MOFs can be used to create a large library of rationally designed, highly complex, difficult to counterfeit optical tags.

Optical tags comprising rare earth metal-organic frameworks

The present invention relates to composite coatings including particles embedded in a matrix, as well as methods and uses thereof. In some examples, the particles are aligned to enhance mitigation of whisker formation from an underlying metal material. Such coatings can be applied to electrical components, thereby reducing the possibility of electrical short circuits from aberrant whisker growth.

Multifunctional composite coatings for metal whisker mitigation

A family of rare-earth Group 5 oxides, where the Group 5 oxide is a niobate or tantalate. The rare-earth Group 5 oxides can be doped with suitable emitter ions to form nanophosphors.

Rare-earth tantalates and niobates suitable for use as nanophosphors

A hydrothermal method of synthesis of a family of rare-earth Group 5 oxides, where the Group 5 oxide is a niobate or tantalate. The rare-earth Group 5 oxides can be doped with suitable emitter ions to form nanophosphors.

Growing community of inventors

Albuquerque, NM, United States of America

Lauren E S Rohwer