Recent Patents on Nanotechnology - Volume 5, Issue 2, 2011

It is well known that current fossil fuel usage is unsustainable and associated with greenhouse gas production. The amount of the world's primary energy supply provided by renewable energy technologies is required urgently. Therefore, the relevant technologies such as hydrogen fuel, solar cell, biotechnology based on nanotechnology and the relevant patents for exploiting the future energy for the friendly environment are r Read More

This paper gives an overview of research and patents concerning the use of natural zeolites in water-treatment systems in the last ten years. Furthermore, nanocomposite materials made of natural zeolites and organic and polymeric materials are also mentioned as an effective solution in water treatment. An additional emphasis is put on a variety of possibilities for further application of natural zeolite materials for environ Read More

This mini-review summarizes some key interesting applications and perspectives of nanostructured devices for future nanoelectronics, among them are photonic circuits, carbon nanostructures for chemisensors, unique Ag-Cunanocluster contacts for high-effective solar cells. Recent patents in the field are also discussed.

As silicon technology scaling progresses to the 32 nm node or even further, the design on the propagation of electromagnetic signals becomes increasingly appealing due to their unyielding constraints on interconnect delay. Because of its high conductivity and electromigration resistance, Cu is now the interconnect materials in current VLSI. To ensure the signal propagation via the Cu interconnects upon the increasingly re Read More

SnO2 semiconductor is a host material for ultraviolet optoelectronic devices applications because of its wide band gap (3.6 eV), large exciton binding energy (130 meV) and exotic electrical properties and has attracted great interests. The renewed interest is fueled by the availability of exciton emission in nanostructures, high quality epitaxial films, p-type conductivity, and heterojunction light emitting devices. This review Read More

The patents annotated in this section have been selected from various patent data bases. These recent patents are relevant to the articles published in this journal issue, categorized by different biotechnology methods, processes and techniques involved.