The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jan. 20, 2026
Filed:
Dec. 17, 2020
The Regents of the University of California, Oakland, CA (US);
Shane Ardo, Irvine, CA (US);
Gideon Segev, Berkeley, CA (US);
Francesca Toma, Berkeley, CA (US);
Joel Ager, Berkeley, CA (US);
Rylan Kautz, Irvine, CA (US);
David Larson, Berkeley, CA (US);
THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, Oakland, CA (US);
Abstract
Described herein is an ion pump system implementing an electronic ratchet mechanism produced by modulating a spatially varying electric potential distribution that can result in a net ionic current and voltage. The ion pumping membrane system includes an ion-permeable layer that can also be integrated with ion-selective membranes. The electric potential distribution within the ion-permeable layer is modulated through external stimuli. When immersed in solution, ions within the ion-permeable layer experience a time varying, spatially asymmetric electric field distribution resulting in ratchet-driven direct ion pumping, which can be used in applications such as desalination.