Technology Product paradigms for your review

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Technology Product paradigms for your review
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Non-Invasive Energy Meter for Fixed and Variable
Flow Systems

• An energy metering method and apparatus for
  liquid flow systems comprising first and second
  segments of one or more conduits through which a
  liquid flows, comprising attaching a first
  temperature sensor for connection to an outside
  of the first conduit segment attaching a second
  temperature sensor for connectioon to an outside
  of the second conduit segment via a programmable
  control unit, receiving data from the sensors and
  calculating energy data therefrom and
  communicting energy data from the meter whereby
  the method and apparatus operate without need to
  temporarily disconnect or alter the first or
  second conduit segments. The invention operates
  with both vriable and fixed flow systems, and is
  especially useful for both active and passive
  solar energy systems.

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Alternating Current Photovoltaic Building Block

• A modular apparatus for and method of alternating
  current photovoltaic power generation comprising
  via a photovoltaic module., generating power in
  the form of direct current and converting direct
  current to altenrating current and esporting
  power via one or more power conversion and
  transfer units attached to the module, each unit
  comprising a unitary housing extending a length
  or width of the module, which housing comprises
  contact means for receiving direct current from
  the module, one or more direct current-to-alternat
  ing current inverters, an alternating current
  bus, and contact means for receiving alternating
  current bus and contact means for receiving
  alternating current from the one or more
  inverters.

4
Metal Catalyst Technique for Texturing Silicon
Solar Cells

• Textured silicon solar cells and techniques for
  their manufacture utilizing metal sources to
  catalyze formation of randomly distributed
  surface features such as nanoscale pyramidal and
  columnar structures. These structures include
  dimensions smaller than the wavelength of
  incident light, thereby resulting in a highly
  effective anti-reflective surface. According to
  the invention, metal sources present in a
  reactive ion etching chamber permit impurities
  (e.g. metal particles) to be introduced into a
  reactive ion etch plasma resulting in deposition
  of micro-masks on the surface of a substrate to
  be etched. Separate embodiments are disclosed
  including one in which the metal source includes
  one or more metal-coated substrates strategically
  positioned relative to the surface to be
  textured, and another in which the walls of the
  reaction chamber are pre-conditioned with a thin
  coating of metal catalyst material.

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Integrated Boiler, Superheater, and Decomposer
for Sulfuric Acid Decom

• Sulfur-based thermochemical cycles, including the
  Sulfur-Iodine cycle and the Hybrid Sulfur cycle,
  are used to produce hydrogen from water. A
  chemical process common to these sulfur-based
  cycles is the degradation of sulfuric acid to
  produce sulfur dioxide, oxygen and water. The
  acid is heated to boiling, superheated to the
  decomposition temperature, gt750ºC, and
  decomposed. The combination of high temperatures
  and sulfuric acid produces a highly corrosive
  environment and high temperature connections
  between equipment. A method and apparatus,
  constructed of ceramics and other corrosion
  resistant materials, for decomposing sulfuric
  acid into sulfur dioxide, oxygen and water using
  an integrated boiler, superheater, and decomposer
  unit comprising a bayonet-type, dual-tube,
  counter-flow heat exchanger with a catalytic
  insert and a central baffle to increase
  recuperation efficiency is described. By using
  corrosion resistant components and integrating
  the three processes into a single operation,
  problems with corrosion and high-temperature
  connections of equipment are eliminated.

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Optimized alumina coagulants for water treatment

• Substitution of a single Ga-atom or single Ge-
  atom (GaAl12 and GeAl12 respectively) into the
  center of an aluminum Keggin polycation (Al13)
  produces an optimal water-treatment product for
  neutralization and coagulation of anionic
  contaminants in water. GaAl12 consistently shows
  1 order of magnitude increase in pathogen
  reduction, compared to Al13. At a concentration
  of 2 ppm, GaAl12 performs equivalently to 40 ppm
  alum, removing 90 of the dissolved organic
  material. The substituted GaAl12 product also
  offers extended shelf-life and consistent
  performance. We also synthesized a related
  polyaluminum chloride compound made of
  pre-hydrolyzed dissolved alumina clusters of
  GaO4Al12(OH)24(H2O)127 .

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Strippable Containment and Decontamination
Coating Composition and Method of Use

• A method for containing at least a portion of
  radioisotopes, radionuclides, heavy metal or
  combination thereof contaminating a substrate
  wherein a containment composition is applied to
  the substrate. The ingredients within the
  containment composition interact with the
  contaminants on the surface of the substrate
  until the containment composition has polymerized
  to a wter insoluble form containing at least a
  portion of the contaminates enmeshed therein. The
  dried composition is removed from the
  contaminated surface removing with the
  composition at least a portion of the contaminate.

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Self-assembled lipid bilayer materials

• The present invention is a self-assembling
  material comprised of stacks of lipid bilayers
  formed in a columnar structure, where the
  assembly process is mediated and regulated by
  chemical recognition events. The material,
  through the chemical recognition interactions,
  has a self-regulating system that corrects the
  radial size of the assembly creating a uniform
  diameter throughout most of the structure. The
  materials form and are stable in aqueous
  solution. These materials are useful as
  structural elements for the architecture of
  materials and components in nanotechnology,
  efficient light harvesting systems for optical
  sensing, chemical processing centers, and drug
  delivery vehicles.

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DNA Extraction for Rapid Diagnostics

• An active micromixer uses a surface acoustic
  wave, preferably a Rayleigh wave, propagating on
  a piezoelectric substrate to induce acoustic
  streaming in a fluid in a microfluidic channel.
  The surface acoustic wave can be generated by
  applying an RF excitation signal to at least one
  interdigital transducer on the piezoelectric
  substrate. The active micromixer can rapidly mix
  quiescent fluids or laminar streams in low
  Reynolds number flows. The active micromixer has
  no moving parts (other than the SAW transducer)
  and is, therefore, more reliable, less damaging
  to sensistive fluids, and less susceptible to
  fouling and channel clogging than other types of
  active and passive micromixers. The active
  micromixer is adaptable to a wide range of
  geometries, can be easily fabricated, and can be
  integrated in a microfluidic system, reducing
  dead volume. Finally, the active micromixer has
  on-demand on/off mixing capability and can be
  operated at low power.

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Apparatus Comprising a Tunable Nanomechanical
Near-Field Grating and Method for Controlling
Far-Field Emission

• A tunable nanomechanical near-field grating is
  disclosed which is capable of varying the
  intensity of a diffraction mode of an optical
  output signal. The tunable nanomechanical
  near-field grating includes two sub-gratings each
  having line-elements with width and thickness
  less than the operating wavelength of light with
  which the grating interacts. Lateral apertures in
  the two sub-gratings are formed from the space
  between one line-element of the first sub-grating
  and at least one line-element of the second
  sub-grating. One of the sub-gratings is capable
  of motion such that at least one of aperture
  width and aperture depth changes, causing a
  perturbation to the near-field intensity
  distribution of the tunable nanomechanical
  near-field grating and a corresponding change to
  the far-field emission of thereof.

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Nanomechanical near-field grating apparatus and
acceleration sensor formed therefrom

• A nanomechanical near-field grating device is
  disclosed which includes two sub-gratings
  vertically spaced by a distance less than or
  equal to an operating wavelength. Each
  sub-grating includes a plurality of line-elements
  spaced apart by a distance less than or equal to
  the operating wavelength. A light source (e.g., a
  VCSEL or LED) can provide light at the operating
  wavelength for operation of the device. The
  device can operate as an active grating, with the
  intensity of a reflected or transmitted portion
  of the light varying as the relative positions of
  the sub-gratings are controlled by an actuator.
  The device can also operate as a passive grating,
  with the relative positions of the sub-gratings
  changing in response to an environmentally-induced
  force due to acceleration, impact, shock,
  vibration, gravity, etc. Since the device can be
  adapted to sense an acceleration that is directed
  laterally or vertically, a plurality of devices
  can be located on a common substrate to form a
  multi-axis acceleration sensor.

12
Optical displacement sensor

• An optical displacement sensor is disclosed which
  uses a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser
  (VCSEL) coupled to an optical cavity formed by a
  moveable membrane and an output mirror of the
  VCSEL. This arrangement renders the lasing
  characteristics of the VCSEL sensitive to any
  movement of the membrane produced by sound,
  vibrations, pressure changes, acceleration, etc.
  Some embodiments of the optical displacement
  sensor can further include a light-reflective
  diffractive lens located on the membrane or
  adjacent to the VCSEL to control the amount of
  lasing light coupled back into the VCSEL. A
  photodetector detects a portion of the lasing
  light from the VCSEL to provide an electrical
  output signal for the optical displacement sensor
  which varies with the movement of the membrane.

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Handheld Portable Real-Time Tracking and
Communications Device

• Portable handheld real-time tracking and
  communications devices include a controller
  module, communications module including global
  positioning and mesh network radio module, data
  transfer and storage module, and a user interface
  module enclosed in a water-resistant enclosure.
  Real-time tracking and communications devices can
  be used by protective force, security and first
  responder personnel to provide situational
  awareness allowing for enhance coordination and
  effectiveness in rapid response situations. Such
  devices communicate to other authorized devices
  via mobile ad-hoc wireless networks, and do not
  require fixed infrastructure for their operation.

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Microelectromechanical flow control apparatus

• A microelectromechanical (MEM) flow control
  apparatus is disclosed which includes a fluid
  channel formed on a substrate from a first layer
  of a nonconducting material (e.g. silicon
  nitride). A first electrode is provided on the
  first layer of the nonconducting material outside
  the flow channel and a second electrode is
  located on a second layer of the nonconducting
  material above the first layer. A voltage applied
  between the first and second electrodes deforms
  the fluid channel to increase its cross-sectional
  size and thereby increase a flow of a fluid
  through the channel. In certain embodiments of
  the present invention, the fluid flow can be
  decreased or stopped by applying a voltage
  between the first electrode and the substrate. A
  peristaltic pumping of the fluid through the
  channel is also possible when the voltage is
  applied in turn between a plurality of first
  electrodes and the substrate. A MEM flow control
  assembly can also be formed by providing one or
  more MEM flow control devices on a common
  substrate together with a submicron filter. The
  MEM flow control assembly can optionally include
  a plurality of pressure sensors for monitoring
  fluid pressure and determining flow rates through
  the assembly.