LLNL researchers have developed a novel system that can shape the profile of the laser beam during printing or welding.  The phase engineered approach in beam shaping enables in situ process control of its energy distribution at melt-relevant timescales.

Image Caption: SS 316L L-PBF melt pool engineered with LLNL beam shaping demonstrate control of microstructure grain refinement (…

LLNL inventors have developed a gas diffusion electrode (GDE) architecture employing a multi-stack design.  The first layer consists of a physical vapor deposited metallic catalyst film which then has a second composite layer deposited on top consisting of a second catalyst material mixed with a polymer electrolytes.  The two layers working in tandem allow for near 100% CO…

LLNL and its research partners have created miniature ion traps with submicron precision and complex geometries made using 3D printing for fast, high-fidelity and scalable quantum computations. A patent is pending on the technology, with claims covering embodiments for a vertical ion trap, horizontal ion traps and methods of forming the ion traps using advanced manufacturing techniques.

LLNL researchers developed a driver design for IFE-class lasers that allow for simultaneous high energy and high repetition rate operations.  The LLNL invention integrates an amplifier head featuring a mosaic architecture with a modified high power diode delivery system that is designed to achieve uniform and geometry-match illumination of the mosaic structured amplifier module. 

LLNL researchers have introduced the use of a kirigami inspired substrate to act as a mechanical transducer, which converts macroscale stretching motion into localized bending.  The performance of photo-piezocatalysts made with aligned arrays of photocatalytic nanomaterials on the kirigami shaped substrate yields significant enhancements (~250%) in the degradation of dyes.

The approach is to use foundational materials science, structural design, thermal analysis, optic fabrication, and space systems engineering, and to use optimize them through large-scale simulation to realize meter-scale telescopes at 10X cost reduction.  LLNL’s folded Gregorian design integrates all alignment sensitive components into one static monolithic system.  Like solid-…

LLNL inventors have developed an electrochromic device containing Vertically Aligned single walled CNTs (VACNTs) with a range of diameters.  The assembly of these devices into electrochromic windows filled with ionic liquid allows for reversible modulation of the Fermi level in the VACNT film. These electrochromic devices show strong voltage-dependent transmission of near-infrared…

Genetic engineering allows insertion and propagation of a foreign genetic element in a heterologous system in a variety of applications such as the creation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in the field of agriculture or production of therapeutic proteins and antibodies in the field of healthcare. However, such genetic insertions often lack the required stability to be maintained for…

LLNL inventors have developed a new multi-wavelength laser scanning system for use in two-photon printing. By integrating multiple laser beams with various choices of wavelengths, the invention provides a new pathway to fabricating a multi-material 3D structure in a single vat process while achieving increased printing resolution beyond diffraction limit. The technology uses multiple…

The platform has three major components: 
(1) active-mixing direct-ink-write
(2) in situ characterization substrates or probes
(3) active learning experimental planning system.  

LLNL developed a novel SOS diode structure starting with a n-type silicon wafer.  On the appropriate sides of the wafer, donor and acceptor dopants with specifically designed and optimized concentration profiles are diffused in the structure.  Crucially, an extra n-region is introduced to the structure to address pre-pulses.  The result is a SOS diode with an optimized p+/p/n-…

LLNL researchers has developed a composite copper current collector formulation readily used in DIW 3D printing to guide lithium-ion plating/dissolution during charging and discharging cycles.

LLNL inventors have developed a photopolymer resin formulation that consists of a (1) pH labile monomers, (2) a photoinitiator, (3) a photoacid or photobase generator, (4) other additives including, reactive and unreactive diluents, and pH stabilizers. When exposed to radiation in a specific wavelength region, component 2 initiates polymerization with 1 to form a pH sensitive network.…

LLNL researchers have developed an approach to form silicon carbide (and diamond) nanoneedles using plasma etching that create micro pillars followed by chemical etching of the pillars in forming gas containing hydrogen and nitrogen. Combining these two etching processes allow for fabrication of micro- and nanoneedles that are thinner and sharper than conventionally fabricated needles.

This invention addresses the critical challenge of achieving consistent results in additive manufacturing by introducing a novel system that integrates a comprehensive array of sensors into the manufacturing process. These sensors gather multiple data streams, which are then used to construct a detailed model of the system. The key innovation is its ability to handle MIMO while maintaining…

After screening at least 50 different cyclodextrins, LLNL researchers found that the drug Subetadex shows enhanced affinities for fentanyl and its analogues.  Subetadex is a smaller version of sugammadex and with a smaller central cavity, allows it to bind extremely well to fentanyl by comparison.  A pharmacokinetic study showed a rapid clearance of this promising candidate from…

LLNL researchers have developed an artificial protective layer fabricated through a scalable and low-cost process, that can serve as a protective layer for improving the performance of any battery configuration using Li metal as an anode as well as the performance of anode-free Li-metal batteries or anode-free SSBs. This film can suppress Li-dendrite formation because of its mechanical…

This LLNL invention is capable of generating, on-the-fly, tunable magnetic field strengths with voxel-by-voxel alignment.  The approach is to use a custom designed Halbach array consisting of permanent magnets or electromagnets to provide a uniform magnetic field in any direction.  This Halbach array will then be coupled with a stereolithography (SLA) printer so that locally aligned…

LLNL researchers have developed additive manufactured fuel targets for IFE.  They have been successful in using TPL to fabricate low density (down to 60 mg/cm3) and low atomic number (CHO) polymeric foams for potential targets, and some have been tested at the OMEGA Laser Facility. With TPL, LLNL researchers have also been able to fabricate a full fuel capsule with diameter of ~ 5mm or…

Rather than using genes carried by viruses, LLNL researchers have developed an alternative approach of delivering CAR to T-cells in form of proteins that are carried on the surface of nanolipoprotein (NLP) particles. NLPs are naturally occurring molecules that serve as structural mimics of cell membranes.  They can self-assemble and provide a structure or platform for connecting other…

The approach is to use appropriately doped semi-insulating gallium nitride to provide a high damage tolerant photoconductor with high responsivity to various pump wavelength light.  Mn, C, or Fe are used as dopants to provide a source of electrons or holes that can be excited.  This is combined with the use of dichroic antireflection coating at the GaN/polyimide/liquid crystal…

LLNL researchers have developed a silicone based conductive, elastomeric 3D DIW printed structure with a lower wt.% conductive, composite filler to allow for the creation of 3D printed lattice structures with tunable conductivity.   The conductivity of the printed structure can be varied using composition of the starting DIW ink formulation as well as the 3D printed spacing and…

This LLNL invention introduces a technique for optimally detuning the ADC and signal clocks while maintaining synchronization between the two to manage correlated errors in waveform processing. This technique maintains synchronization between the two clocks, but with optimal detuning applied the interleaving artifacts are maximally decorrelated across waveforms and thus suppressed with…

This LLNL invention allows for the fabrication of complex waveplate features and topologies from fused silica, a highly desirable and durable waveplate material.  It also is a unique technique for density multiplication and high-fidelity bidirectional deposition, which can create optical components that are generally for entirely new classes of optical materials.

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This LLNL invention is comprised of (1) a volumetric subtractive manufacturing system which can tomographically manufacture 3D structures with negative features (materials in negative space is degraded with light exposure), and (2) a hybrid volumetric additive/subtractive manufacturing system in which a gelled/solid structure is printed by resin material polymerization using one light, and…

This invention focuses on the design of a fully interchangeable hub-droplet device apparatus for multiple droplet generation in parallel. The novel central hub combined with interchangeable chip configuration allows the use of different planar droplet generation devices that can be replaced and exchanged as needed. By separating the central housing hub which distributes incoming liquids into…

LLNL researchers have developed a relatively large electrochemically active window with low sheet resistance yet has dramatically increased RF transmission. In-situ measurements show an ~40% increase in reflection at 12GHz when tinting for 10 minutes as compared to the off state. The researchers achieved this through combining novel geometric design of the metal traces with the…

LLNL inventors have developed a method and device for the high throughput screening of various chemical and biological entities using a novel combination of cell-free protein synthesis (in vitro transcription-translation), microencapsulation and optical interrogation (Figure below). This includes automated sample handling, microemulsions, microfluidics manipulation, machine vision,…

LLNL researchers have developed a parallelized TPP system that combines metalens array and spatial light modulator (SLM) to manipulate the directed laser light, which enables high-volume fabrication of nano-architected structures at wafer-scale.  Instead of using a single microscope objective, LLNL’s approach uses an array of metalens that the laser passes through with each metalens being…

The approach is to use quantitative phase imaging (QPI) using a common-path phase-shifting interferometry technique.  A sequence of four phase shifts with an increment of π/2 between unscattered reference beam and scattered sample beam are imparted by a spatial light modulator.  A quantitative phase image is retrieved from four raw intensity images.  QPI is a highly sensitive…

LLNL researchers are developing Concrete Assisted by Particles Sealed Under Large-scale Encapsulation (CAPSULE) to provide a solution that utilizes different biological and engineering approaches to repair aging concrete. It uses an innovative method to 

This LLNL invention proposes a new microstructured large mode area fiber design that enhances the confinement of the core mode while strongly suppressing thermal or scattering mediated dynamic couplings with higher order modes thought to be responsible for generating undesirable Transverse Mode Instabilities. The design accomplishes higher order mode suppression and core mode confinement by…

LLNL researchers developed a novel strategy that involves material transformations such as oxidation, nitridation, or carbonization. In one embodiment, copper is heated under ambient conditions resulting in its surface being oxidized and turned into copper oxide, where a new material (e.g., copper oxide) is developed via transformation (e.g., oxidation) without additional addition deposition…

LLNL researchers have developed a piezo-driven jetting powder AM method that provides better control of the packing of printed powder. Powder is fed via a stainless-steel hopper to a nozzle; at the narrowest necking point the powder jams, and flow ceases.  A vibrating piezoelectric element (with through-thickness vibration mode) is driven by a 150V AC signal to disturb the jammed powder,…

To address these challenges and explore the scale-up science of MXene, LLNL researchers have developed a scalable solution-phase synthesis method to generate MXene with over 70% production yield via top-down exfoliation approaches with non-aqueous solvents and salts.  The novel method is a dramatic improvement compared to conventional approaches (10-20%). Furthermore, the shielding…

LLNL researchers have developed a method which utilizes functional alcohols to depolymerize polyurethane crosslinked networks. The functional alcohols show 5X increase in the depolymerization efficiency compared with current state of art (e.g. methanol, ethylene glycol).  The crosslinked polyurethane networks completely depolymerized into a liquid oligomer within 48 hours at ambient…

LLNL researchers have developed a novel photocurable silicone useful for producing three-dimensional objects via additive manufacturing. The resin formulations consist of a mult-component siloxane polymers with different functionalities, a platinum catalyst, a photoinitiator, and other organic peroxides.  The LLNL invention involves controlling the spatial and temporal aspects of the…

Nozzle design and manufacturing greatly affects the performance of LMJ printers.  This LLNL invention describes a novel multi-part nozzle design that improves their performance.

The approach that LLNL researchers developed involve:

LLNL researchers have created a suitably compliant adhesive that is based on a thiol monomer mixed with an epoxy monomer in the presence of metal oxide nanoparticles.  When cured into films or pucks, the adhesives are optically transparent with a RI up to ~1.68 at 532 nm with varying shore A hardness in the range of 50 to 98. The adhesive can potentially be mixed and potted between Ti:…

LLNL has developed a novel Production of Readily compressible dies for Enhanced Sintering of Solids (PRESS) method for ceramic parts manufacturing that uses compressible, non-sintering powder materials as a mold which can match the compaction of the ceramic powder starting materials during pressure-assisted sintering. PRESS enables uniform deformation of the part under a constant linear travel…

LLNL researchers have continued to develop their pioneering DIW 3D-printed glass optics technology that allows for the 3D printing of single- and multi-material optical glass compositions in complex shapes. This LLNL invention further proposes incorporating dopants (including, but not limited to TiO2 and Pd) into slurries and inks for 3D printing of glass components that can then be directly…

LLNL inventors have developed a proprietary concept and a prototype NVU device that provides an effective in vitro model of the BBB to discover, develop and screen drug candidates for their ability to cross the BBB. The device could also be useful in studying neurological disorders with defects in BBB to understand the mechanism underlying the pathology of the disease that might…

LLNL researchers developed an approach that uses a Z-pinch magnetohydrodynamic (“ZMHD”) pulse as the pressure pulse to emit the liquid metal droplets.  ZMHD produces a large current pulse to traverse a column of conducting liquid metal.  This pulse induces a magnetic field through Ampere’s law, and that field then interacts with the current pulse via the Lorentz force to generate a…

LLNL researchers have developed a novel method of making a GDE that starts with a porous, conductive structural framework made from metallic materials which standalone would be too hydrophilic and macroporous.

LLNL has developed a method that adds a polyamine based crosslinker and an acid receptor, based on MgO nanoparticles into a polymer bonded PBX, where the polymer binder is a fluoropolymer containing vinylidene difluoride functionality.  Crosslinking kinetics can then be controlled by selecting an appropriate amine structure, pressing temperature and optionally the addition of a chemical…

This LLNL invention is a wide bandgap (WBG) or ultra-wide bandgap (UWBG) material comprising a PCSS that is modified, either chemically through alloying and/or mechanically through strain fields, in order to tune the energetic positions of the valence and/or conduction bands and the associated optical transition energies that create and quench the PCSS responsivity.

This LLNL invention concerns a method for patterning the index of refraction by fabricating a spatially invariant metasurface, and then apply spatially varied mechanical loading to compress the metasurface features vertically and spread them radially. In doing so, the index of refraction can be re-written on the metasurface, thus enabling index patterning. This process allows rapid 'rewriting…

LLNL researchers have developed a passive cooling system which is (1) infrared transparent in the 8-13 um wavelength range, (2) optically reflective to reduce surface heating from sunlight, and (3) thermally insulating to avoid heating from surrounding air. The device uses a material composite that provides cooling via maintaining a temperature difference between a surface and ambient air…

This invention, hereby called liquid metal binder jetting (LMBJ), uses a molten metal as the “binder” that is deposited on ceramic powder, resulting in a multi-material fabrication process that includes both the ceramic and metallic phase in the same process.  The simple process involves four steps:

LLNL researchers have developed a self-supporting structural material that promises more efficient carbon capture specifically from air, but generally from all CO2 containing gas sources. The material is produced with a liquid high-amine-content precursor polymer that is functionalized by adding on polymerizable end groups.

LLNL researchers have designed and developed a novel high-density, high-channel count 3D connector that enables hundreds or thousands of nonpermanent connections within a compact footprint. The connector addresses limitations of currently used conventional approaches that were described previously, which have an artificial ceiling on the number of recording sites of modern devices of no more…

As an important step toward overcoming the technical and environmental limitations of current REE processing methods, the LLNL team has patented and demonstrated a biobased, all-aqueous REE extraction and separation scheme using the REE-selective lanmodulin protein. Lanmodulin can be fixed onto porous support materials using thiol-maleimide chemistry, which can enable tandem REE purification…

This invention proposes achieving the same effect of a single, high intensity pulse through the use of a closely spaced burst of short duration pulses. By keeping the intensity of the individual pulses below the damage threshold the risk of catastrophic damage is greatly mitigated. Additionally, the pulses are directed to strike the target at locations temporally and spatially sufficiently…

LLNL’s Distributed Implicit Neural Representation (DINR) is a novel approach to 4D time-space reconstruction of dynamic objects.  DINR is the first technology to enable 4D imaging of dynamic objects at sufficiently high spatial and temporal resolutions that are necessary for real world medical and industrial applications. 

Holography fully encodes a 3D light field by imprinting its interference pattern with a reference laser beam in a nonlinear medium. By crossing two pump laser pulses in a gas jet, a hologram can be recorded as a distribution of plasma, allowing manipulation of a subsequent high-intensity probe beam. The interference between two collinear beams with distinct foci produces a plasma zone plate, a…

This invention proposes the use of a nonlinear spectral broadening subsystem as a post-CPA pulse compression add-on for high energy laser systems. The proposed solution utilizes the beam profile of a high peak power laser as a reference to shape a highly transmissive nonlinear plastic (e.g., CR39) itself to ensure a spatially homogeneous nonlinear spectral broadening.

LLNL researchers have developed two approaches to fabricate nanocrystal superlattices for electronic and optoelectronic devices.  Nanocrystals covered by this approach include, but are not limited to, metal nanocrystals, semiconducting nanocrystals (quantum dots), and insulating nanocrystals, or a combination of those.

LLNL researchers uses Additive Manufacturing (AM) to create reinforcing scaffolds that can be integrated with High Explosives (HE) or solid rocket fuel with minimal volume fraction. Its main benefit is to create stability in harsh field conditions.  Its secondary benefit is providing another method to finely tune blast performance or fuel burn. Creating complex shapes with structural…

LLNL has a long history of developing aerogels.  Because of their high surface area, they have unique physical, chemical, and mechanical properties, which makes aerogels a promising material for use in a variety of technical applications areas ranging from energy storage to catalysis.  LLNL researchers are able to tailor the structure and properties to create strong, high-density…

Powder atomic layer deposition process is used to coat nanopowders of host materials (e.g. yttrium aluminum garnet) with optically active neodymium organometal precursor followed by O₂/O₃ RF plasma to convert to a single layer of Nd₂O₃. The process can be repeated to build arbitrarily thick layers with custom doping profiles and followed by post-…

This novel invention specifically enables the fabrication of arbitrarily tailored birefringence characteristics in nano-structured meta-surfaces on non-birefringent substrates (e.g. fused silica). The birefringent nano-structured meta-surface is produced by angled directional reactive ion beam etching through a nano-particle mask. This method enables the simultaneous tailoring of refractive…

This invention (US Patent No. 11,294,103) is an extension of another LLNL invention, US Patent No. 10,612,145, which utilizes a thin sacrificial metal mask layer deposited on a dielectric substrate (e.g. fused silica) and subsequently nanostructured through a laser generated selective thermal de-wetting process.

This invention proposes fabrication of a sandwich of two or more (typically 3) magneto-rheologically finished (MRF’d) birefringent plates with purpose designed arbitrary surface contour profiles and eigen-axis orientation. The tailored surface contour profiles are designed to compensate for the observed de-polarization characteristics of a particular solid-state laser operating in a particular…

LLNL researchers have designed and produced, both conductive and non-conductive porous electrode components manufactured for improved metal deposition, discharging, and fluid dynamics in hybrid flow batteries.  This is achieved through Direct Ink Writing (DIW) additive manufacturing.  The engineered 3D electrodes enable uniform current distribution and even metal deposition during…

LLNL researchers have enhanced and expanded the IDEA technology, which fabricates micron-scale droplets that are then crosslinked in-air (within milliseconds) using a UV light source before collection. An aerodynamically shearing air jet or acoustic vibration force causes rapid droplet formation.

LLNL researchers have developed a TDLAS-based, standalone, real-time gas analyzer in a small form-factor for continuous or single-point monitoring.  The system can analyze multiple gases with ultra-high sensitivity (ppm detection levels) in harsh conditions when utilizing wavelength-modulation spectroscopy (WMS). 

This LLNL invention is an optical amplifier, wherein the gain element is in the form of a frustum and a spherically diverging laser beam is introduced into the gain medium via the small face of the frustum. In one embodiment, the pump beam is generated by one or more chromium-lasers that are counter-propagating, having been introduced through the large face of the frustum. The gain medium may…

LLNL researchers have developed a method to enhance the performance of polyelectrolyte membranes by using a humidity-controlled crosslinking process which can be applied to precisely adjust the water channels of the membrane.

LLNL’s invention is a photopolymerizable polymer resin that consists of one or more nitrile-functional based polymers. The resin is formulated for SLA based 3D printing allowing for the production of nitrile-containing polymer components that can then be thermally processed into a conductive, highly graphitic materials. The novelty of the invention lies in (1) the photo-curable nitrile-…

This invention circumvents the GMAPD deadtime limitation by using an array of GMAPDs in a non-imaging configuration instead of a single element. By using an array, with sufficient number of elements, guarantees there is always at least one element available to detect an incoming photon even if others are in the deadtime zone.

This invention works by imaging an ultrafast pulse diffracted from a large grating onto a spatial light modulator (SLM) thereby directly transcribing an arbitrary record on a pulse front tilted (PFT) ultrafast pulse. The grating generates PFT of the input pulse, and the SLM provides temporal control of the pulse through the space-to-time mapping of the tilted pulse. Coupling this patterned…

LLNL’s researchers use physical vapor deposition (sputter deposition or electron beam deposition) to coat an inert gasket material (i.e. PTFE) with a conductive metal (i.e. copper). The gas diffusion electrode overlaps onto the copper coated gasket to allow for electrical conductivity between the catalyst surface and the flow field/current collector of a CO2 electrolyzer. The coated gasket…

LLNL researchers have developed a method for enhancing the photocatalytic degradation of organic contaminants in water through the incorporation of patterned plasmonic metal nanostructures with TiO2 photocatalysts. The multi-step process to incorporate UV plasmonic metal nanostructures with the photocatalyst can be briefly summarized below:
•    Nanosphere lithography…

This invention solves a limitation in the current practice of adding hydroxyl functional groups to the aminopolymer through the use of an alternative synthetic approach. The novelty of our approach is to produce new structurally modified relatives of common aminopolymers (PEI and PPI) as well as new functionalized materials in which the hydroxyl groups are tethered to a carbon in the backbone…

LLNL researchers refined custom mixing techniques and formulations in order to avoid clumping and fiber agglomerations for a flowable tailored feedstock that produces a homogeneous, survivable thermal barrier coating.  Formulation improvements coupled with unexpected nozzle coupling from Buchi spray dry components leads to the production of fiber containing spray dried feedstock that can…

LLNL researchers have developed a fabrication process for creating 3D random interdigitated architectures of anodes and cathodes, eliminating the need for a membrane to separate them.  This approach is similar to the repeating interdigitated multi-electrode architectures that also were developed at LLNL. 

LLNL researchers has devised several design strategies to enable gating of thick architectures (e.g., 2D planar, 3D out-of-plane) made of nanostructures while maintaining substantial surface area available for sensing.  Specific examples described in the patent application (2021/0249618) are given for carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and including typical channel gate configurations, gate-all-…

The essence of this invention is a method that couples network architecture using neural implicit representations coupled with a novel parametric motion field to perform limited angle 4D-CT reconstruction of deforming scenes.

This invention exploits the non-linearities of optical Mach-Zehnder (MZ) electrooptic modulators to enhance small signal dynamic range at higher bandwidths. A linear photodiode (PD) converts the amplified optical signal output from the MZ back to an electrical signal completing an Electrical-Optical-Electrical (EOE) conversion cycle. The dynamic range can be further enhanced by daisy chaining…

This invention draws on the higher damage tolerance of plasma to manipulate high-intensity light. Plasma is a difficult medium to control and sets stringent limits on optical performance. A compact high-power laser system can be realized using plasma transmission gratings for chirped pulse compression based on currently achievable plasma properties and minimal plasma volume. A double…

This invention proposes a volumetric transmission grating based on ionization created in a neutral gas by crossing and interfering two short-pulse pump lasers so that their intensity maxima rise above the medium’s ionization threshold. This will create a modulated index of refraction that can diffract a subsequent probe beam like a transmission grating. Crucially for the application of…

Using their computational design optimization, LLNL researchers have developed copper-based dilute alloy catalysts (contains <10 at.% of the minority metal alloy component) and demonstrated these novel catalysts have improved energy efficiency and selectivity of the methane conversion reaction.  By alloying copper with a small amount of the electropositive minority metal element, the…

The two primary methods for actuating triboelectric (mechanical/friction) devices are contact separation and lateral sliding.  Rather than an air gap to separate the contacts and sliding, LLNL researchers have conceived of a flexible, self-contained triboelectric device that can be compressed.  The key to the invention is the dual function of a flexible, compressive material that…

A thyristor will stay conducting until the current through the device is zero (“current zero”) or perhaps slightly negative.  LLNL’s approach is to use the opticondistor (“OTV”) to force this current zero in order to force the device into an “off” state.  By combining a light-activated thyristor with an OTV, a noise-immune, high efficiency, high-power switching device can be…

The researchers’ approach leverages the concept that dopants have high diffusivities in Ga2O3; the key lies in the selection of the appropriate dopant.  This LLNL invention describes two device types that employ this design:

LLNL researchers developed a novel method in preparing the ceramic nanofibrous material, which are used to attract and hold particles as well as unique filter designs. The ceramic fibers are prepared via electro spinning to make sheets of nanofibers. The sheets can then be formed into tubes of high surface area.

LLNL’s invention combines four approaches to enable on-the-fly multi-resolution metal droplet printing:  (1) a nozzle with two or more orifices of varying diameter and length, (2) a set of corresponding pressure pulses that can eject droplets out of some, but not all, orifices in either magnetohydrodynamic (MHD-LMJ) or Pneumatic-LMJ, (3) the ability to change the pressure pulse on demand…

This invention proposes using a pulse laser configured to generate laser pulses and a controller for controlling operation of the pulse laser. The controller is further configured to control the pulse laser to cause the pulse laser to generate at least one of the laser pulses with a spatiotemporally varying laser fluence over a duration of at least one of the laser pulses. The spatiotemporally…

Rapid monolith development at scale is achieved through use of a functionally equivalent optic simulant made from a low-cost material to substitute the functional optic. Monolith optical performance is affected not only by thermal expansion but also by temperature inhomogeneity due to the temperature dependence of refractive index.

Aeroptics are a proposed new class of monolithic optical system in aerogel fabricated by molding around a master mandrel. This approach combines the intrinsic stability of proven monolithic telescopes, with the ultralow density of silica aerogels. In Aeroptics, the monolith is hollow with an aerogel substrate providing a supporting structure. Theoretically, Aeroptics could enable 1-m aperture…

This invention proposes to engineer the current density along the length of a laser diode to overcome the penalty associated with non-uniformity resulting from asymmetry in the gain, photon or carrier density despite having uniform contact. Optimizing the current density profile enables diode lasers to operate with greater power conversion efficiency or operate with equivalent power conversion…

This invention proposes to engineer the temperature dependence of the emission wavelength of LEDs and laser diodes. The approach is to use a strain-inducing coating to counteract the intrinsic temperature coefficient of the emission wavelength of the LED or laser diode device thereby rendering it athermal. This invention avoids additional complexity, size, weight and power dissipation of…

This invention proposes a method to overcome the key limitation of electrically pumped lasers based on AlN, AlGaN, or AlInGaN, namely the lack of suitable shallow donor and acceptor dopants. As the band gap of these materials increases (and the emission wavelength decreases), both electrons and holes require greater thermal energies in order to ionize.

Laser diode lensing effect can be substantially reduced by creating a pattern interface such that the substrate is only attached at the diode mesa. This is achieved by either creating a pattern solder joint and/or pattern substrate.

LLNL researchers’ approach to this challenge is to design a modular valve subsystem that redirects the flow away from the main nozzle to an “exhaust”. By re-routing the flow to a different exit port, steady state flow can be better maintained.  The re-routing requires actuators that work in tandem; open and close of the nozzle and exhaust valves have to be executed simultaneously.  …

LLNL researchers developed novel workflows where material is first cast into the LCE molds at room temperature.  Upon curing, the mold is induced to expand or contract (change shape) by external stimuli (light, heat, solvent) to self-release.  A reduction to practice example used silica-loaded silicone ink casted into a LCE cylinder mold.  It was cured at 100°C, and self-…

LLNL researchers have developed an innovative and uniform single-pot polymer multi-material system, based on a combination of 3 different reactive chemistries.  By combining the three different constituent monomers, fine control of mechanical attributes, such as elastic modulus, can be achieved by adjusting the dosage of UV light throughout the additive manufacturing process.  This…

LLNL researchers have developed a method to incorporate gas phase synthesized graphene (GSG) as a unique additive in a UV-crosslinkable polymer formulation. The GSG is added by using a planetary mixer to obtain a homogenous suspension of GSG in polymer. The resulting formulation is highly stable and doesn't show signs of phase separation or solid sedimentation. The polymer formulation is then…

Three important aspects of this invention are: (1) the formulation of a photocurable resin containing a fluorophore that exhibits AIE behavior; (2) the method of in-situ and real-time characterization for monitoring the reaction kinetics during the photopolymerization and UV-curing process; and (3) the application of a new 3D steganographic ink for 3D encrypted structure.

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Design and construction of a photoconductive switch requires a diamond photoconductor illuminated by light of a certain excitation wavelength. 

Characteristics of the LLNL-developed switch are as follows:

This invention configures multiple spherical substrate targets to roll independently of one another.  The spheres’ rolling motion is deliberately randomized to promote uniform coating while eliminating the interaction (rubbing, sliding) of adjacent spheres that is present in conventional sphere coating designs. The devices’ novel structure features enable the collimation of depositing…

LLNL researchers has developed designs to augment WBG/UWBG-based OALVs to improve their power handling capability under CW operational environments.  These designs include:

This invention takes advantage of the high water-solubility of key NIF KDP crystal optics and uses water as an etchant to remove surface defects and improve the laser induced damage threshold. Since pure water etches KDP too fast, this invention is to disperse water as nanosized droplets in a water-in-oil micro-emulsion. While in a stable micro-emulsion form, the surfactant additives prevent…

This invention proposes to use laser induced melting/softening to locally reshape the form of a glass optic. The local glass densification that results induces predictable stresses that through plate deformation mechanics yield a deterministic methodology for arbitrarily reshaping an optic surface figure and wavefront without the need to remove material.

This invention achieves both a wider field of view and faster f-number within a monolithic substrate by incorporating an aspheric convex refractive first surface and a planar aspheric field corrector surface on the final refractive surface. These two refractive surfaces work in conjunction with a concave aspheric primary and convex aspheric secondary mirror (e.g. Cassegrain type) to improve…

This invention is about a Material Jetting technique used to form a ceramic green body that is subsequently processed into a transparent ceramic optic with unique tunable spatial control of the composition as a function of position only achievable via additive manufacturing methods. This method uses ceramic particles loaded into a liquid slurry with required viscosity and surface tension to be…

This invention consists of a method of forming nanoscale metal lines to produce a grating-like mask with wide area coverage over the surface of a durable optical material such as fused silica. Subsequent etching processes transfer the metal mask to the underlying substrate forming a birefringent metasurface. This method enables the production of ultrathin waveplates for high power laser…

This LLNL invention proposes a novel approach to spectral interferometry, the preferred technique for characterizing nanosecond long records of laser pulse shapes with femtosecond resolution. Linear techniques are much more sensitive than the many nonlinear techniques of the prior art and can be used for very weak pulses. However, they depend on being able to interfere the signal with a well…

LLNL has designed and demonstrated a novel transmission Spectral Beam Combining grating optic assembly with megawatt power handling capabilities. The design consists of a monolithic structure with an input transform optic and an output transmission grating. The design features LLNL’s proven compact, lightweight Spectral Channels Splicer architecture to combine adjacent spectral channels of…

The approach involves 3D printing hinges made of Pre-Stressed Polymers (“PSP”) onto polyimide (“PI”) substrates.  These hinges are then able to fold in response to externally applied stimuli, such as light.  First, 2D PI devices will be microfabricated.  Then, PSP infused with colored inks will be printed using Direct Ink Write (“DIW”) on the hinges of the PI devices.  When…

Heat sensitive materials such as piezoelectric and MEMS devices and assemblies, magnetic sensors, nonlinear optical crystals, laser glass or solid-state laser materials, etc. cannot be exposed to excess temperatures which in the context of this invention, means materials that cannot be exposed to temperatures greater than 50°C (122°F). LLNL’s invention describes a low-temperature method of…

LLNL researchers developed a novel method to nucleate the alpha phase of Tantalum on a polymer surface at room temperature, allowing for the controllable formation of a variety of 3D structures, such as airbridges. Using this method with a subsequent Piranha etch results in the complete removal of the residues of the polymer 'scaffolding' or template while allowing the deposited tantalum…

LLNL researchers have developed a novel Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), tracking, powering system and method using coded Ultra-wideband (UWB) signaling. The RFID system is capable of remote powering (activating) multiple passive UWB tags that are located some distance away, which is further than conventional RFID tags. Once the tags are activated, the tags are able to communicate with…

LLNL’s approach to meet this challenge is to use a pneumatic DOD-LMJ method wherein the nozzle is filled with a molten pure metal or metal alloy.  There are two reservoirs in LLNL’s invention that are in direct contact with each other: the liquid metal reservoir that is constantly heated so the metal remains molten and an inert gas reservoir, which is connected to an inert gas pressure…

LLNL researchers have developed novel advanced manufactured biomimetic 3D-TPMS (triply periodic minimal surface) membrane architectures such as a 3D gyroid membrane. The membrane is printed using LLNL's nano-porous photoresist technology.  LLNL’s 3D-TPMS membranes consist of two independent but interpenetrating macropore flow channel systems that are separated by a thin nano-porous wall…

LLNL researchers have devised a set of design principles that facilitates the development of practical TPMS-based two fluid flow reactors.; included in the design are these new concepts:

LLNL researchers have developed a Li-Sn-Zn ternary alloy and its method of production.  Instead of traditional alloying techniques, the alloy was synthesized using mechanical alloying (high energy ball milling).  With high purity elemental powders of lithium, tin and zinc, LLNL researchers were able to prepare Li60Sn20Zn20 as well as Li70Sn20Zn10 nanopowders.

Facing these challenges, LLNL researchers focused on ceramic material as it is inherently inert and developed a host of inventions where porous ceramic membranes are prepared using a sacrificial polymer template. By controlling polymer/ceramic nanoparticle ratio and processing conditions, the pore morphology of the ceramic itself is controlled and optimized for the various applications. The…

The heart of this LLNL invention lies in combining existing concepts for absorber intercooling and packing geometry into a novel configuration that yields the benefits of in-line intercooling at reduced capital cost and equipment size. The technology utilizes LLNL-developed Triply Periodic Minimal Surface (TPMS) structures (US Patent No. 11,389,765) that are produced using additive…

LLNL researchers have developed a technology suite that includes several methods for detecting trace levels of illicit drugs even in mixtures. These methods can be used as a rapid screening test for incoming samples; for the samples that were determined to contain detectable amounts, they would undergo final verification using conventional laboratory analytical techniques.

Electrodes that measure current and voltage are connected to the LPBF build plate by magnetic metal arms.  These arms are placed on a steel weighted base that provides a high degree of mechanical flexibility to conform to small geometries and can be easily incorporated into a complex manufacturing system.  Furthermore, the electrodes are connected to tapered copper tips that can…

LLNL researchers have invented an ultrafast PCSS to drive a high-power laser diode with arbitrary pulse widths.  These devices operate by supplying a high voltage (>10 kV) to one side of the switch.  A short pulse of light illuminates the semiconductor, instantly turning it from highly resistive to highly conductive. Ultrawide bandgap (UWBG) semiconductors are used to achieve sub-…

LLNL’s novel technology automates the inspection process by using a scanning system that captures data within the walnut shell without having to open the shell. The system output gives a visual image inside the walnut shell sufficient to evaluate and rate the quality of the walnut.  The system uses a camara and radar that can capture data at a rapid rate. This improves speed and…

LLNL researchers have developed novel catalytic electrodes for energy storage applications from inexpensive starting materials.  The LLNL team are using a group of 3D printing inks that contain precursors of earth-abundant catalysts (e.g. Ni, Co and Fe compounds); the catalytic materials are imbedded into the ink matrix.  To carefully control the properties such as surface area and…

LLNL has co-developed a number of technologies thatuse cold spray deposition that enable new designs for functional materials with low waste.

LLNL’s novel approach is to use separators based on a bilayer structure that consists of a self-formed skin layer on a microporous membrane.  The highly porous membrane is made of 1,6-hexanediol diacrylate (HDDA), which provides high Li ion conductivity.  The skin layer is relatively dense that allows for easy Li-ion transport but can effectively block undesired constituents such as…

The approach is to develop a solid-state X-ray imager based on the architecture of the Silicon Drift Detector (SDD) which uses a series of cathode strips on both sides of a silicon wafer to achieve bulk depletion and electron drift.  The invention leverages this SDD functionality to achieve signal stretching of liberated charge carriers from X-Ray photons that converts the time domain…

The approach is to leverage the fact that a momentary “load” equal to the power transmission line impedance, (Z0), during the transient can suppress its propagation.  Z(0) is typically a fixed impedance of several hundred ohms based on the geometry of most single wire transmission lines.

So, an isolated self-powered opticondistor (OTV) system may provide an ultrafast method of…

LLNL’s novel approach is to use diamond substrates with the desired donor (nitrogen) and acceptor (boron) impurities.   In order to optically activate these deep impurities, the invention requires at least one externally or internally integrated light source.  The initial exposure to light can set up the desired conduction current, after which the light source could be turned…

LLNL researchers have developed a novel simulation methodology using slow growth thermodynamic integration (SGTI) utilizing spliced soft-core interaction potential (SSCP).  The approach to filling the molecular enclosures is a nonphysical one.  Rather than filling the pores from the open ends this method creates steps in the algorithm that allow molecules to pass through the pore…

LLNL researchers have developed a method to manufacture solid standard reference materials (SRMs) that can be used as calibration standards for elemental and isotopic analyses. The novel method allows for the growth of compositionally controlled particles as starting materials, and the synthesis of SRMs with single or multi-component(s) through electrophoretic deposition (EPD). The SRMs are…

The novel approach is to make Ultem® into an ink for DIW or droplet printing by dissolving Ultem® in solvents, such as tetrahydrofuran.  This produces a viscous solvent-melt that is loaded into an ambient temperature extrusion system and deposited into a defined structure by the 3D printer.  Solvent mobility is limited by the polymer structure, and further solvent removal allows…

LLNL’s novel approach is to use Direct Ink Write (DIW) with a co-extrusion nozzle to enable the extrusion of multiple materials as one coil.  With this method, LLNL researchers were able to produce an insulating wire that is composed of three different materials, axial conducting and insulating from its inner core to its outer sheath.  After heat treatment, the printed wireI was then…

LLNL researchers have developed a novel technique of flow-through electrode capacitive deioinization (FTE-CDI) which can be tailored for selective ion removal from water. It uses porous carbon aerogel materials as capacitive deionization (CDI) electrodes to selectively remove scale forming divalent ions (e.g., magnesium, calcium) from "hard" waters.

Instead of producing individual DSRDs and bonding them, Tunnel DSRD's entire stack structure is grown epitaxially on a n- or p-type silicon wafer, resulting in a novel, “monolithic” stacked DSRD.  A tunnel diode is essentially a diode with very highly doped p and n regions such that the reverse breakdown voltage is 200 meV or lower. 

Beam Element-based Topology Optimization (“BETO”) is one of the conventional ways to design microstructures.  It starts with an initial design that is composed of many beam elements.  LLNL’s invention uses accurate Component-wise Reduced Order Models (“CWROM”) rather than the inaccurate beam elements.  In doing so, the process becomes computationally efficient and fast, as each…

LLNL inventors have devised a solely pressure-based method for producing Li3P and Na3P using a diamond anvil cell at room temperature. By applying relatively low pressure (<1GPa) to elemental mixtures of lithium / phosphorous and sodium / phosphorous and LLNL researchers were able to synthesize lithium- and sodium-rich phosphorous compounds (Li3P and Na3P), respectively. 

…

LLNL’s novel approach is to use waveguide-based devices and microwave energy to perform characterization of the projectile or droplet.  Various embodiments of droplet devices can determine the size, motion (position, velocity, and acceleration), rate, and material elements of a moving element.  This invention uses a tubular housing having a first end (input port) and a second end (…

LLNL’s approach to designing logic gates uses heuristic as well as with the Freedom and Constraint Topologies (FACT) methods; these gates are then produced using existing additive manufacturing processes.  The 10,122,365 and 10,678,293 patents describe how to fabricate the gates; the

LLNL’s novel approach to enable MVDC power systems to operate safely is to develop a wideband gap bulk optical semiconductor switch (WBG BOSS) circuit breaker.  For higher power, efficiency and temperature operation, vanadium-doped silicon carbide (V-doped SiC) appears to be the most promising basis for WBG BOSS circuit breaker (other dopants like aluminum, boron and nitrogen may further…

LLNL’s approach is to design and fabricate a massively-parallel microanode printhead using a custom complementary metal-oxide semiconductor integrated circuit (CMOS IC) chip with independent electronics for each pixel.  This microanode in close proximity to the cathode surface will electroplate dissolved ions into a small voxel.  The probe then moves and continues to deposit material…

LLNL researchers have developed an approach is to use pneumatic droplet ejection devices to rapidly 3D print solid metal parts that also have a smoother surface finish than conventional liquid metal printing.  Pneumatic droplet ejection printers can be used in two different modes: “droplet mode” uses pulsed gas pressure to create individual droplets of liquid metal that are collected to…

LLNL researchers has developed an approach to mitigate HER on the ‘plating’ electrode, which uses a sub-device as a rebalancing cell to restore electrolyte properties, including pH, conductivity, and capacity across the main device of the flow battery.  This sub-device, which may need to be powered externally, has three major physical components: (1) a cathode electrode, (2) an anode…

LLNL’s innovation offers an alternate synthetic route to graphite at lower cost using a molten salt mixture of CaCl2-CaCO3-CaO.  The synthetic production of graphite and other high-value carbon materials is accomplished in molten salt media via electrochemical reduction and transformation of the carbon from the carbonate ion. The broad electrochemical window of molten salts enables the…

LLNL researchers have developed a high average power Faraday rotator that is gas-cooled and uniquely designed to dissipate heat uniformly so that it does not build up in the optical component and affect its performance.  The Faraday rotator material is sliced into smaller disks like a loaf of bread so that high speed helium gas can flow between the slices.  With this highly efficient…

A set of images generated by multiple passes over the same area can be coherently integrated by this technology developed by LLNL researchers.  The primary difficulty with coherently combining different passes is registering the images obtained from each pass, particularly if a pass only partially covers a given area.

LLNL inventors have shown that the optical material properties (transmission, reflectance, color) of an assembled device can be dynamically tunable using innovative core-shell nanomaterials and a structured composite crystal/colloid design. These smart optical materials are assembled from nanosized constituents that have a native surface charge.  The nanoparticles can be manipulated by an…

LLNL has developed a novel methodology for using commercially available automated sensors and actuators which can be deployed at scale in large appliances and plug-in EVs to provide as needed electric grid stabilization capabilities. The approach comprises of a population of voltage relays with a range of setpoints that would gradually reduce load as voltage falls. More severe voltage…

LLNL has developed a process to partially sinter starting material composed of smaller-sized powder particles to obtain a loose powder product that have larger-sized particles.   To avoid the undesired formation of a single fully-sintered piece, the starting powder material is heated for a relatively shorter time.  The time and temperature required for partial sintering is…

LLNL inventors have created innovative steps in the synthesis, carbonation and activation steps of aerogel manufacturing that allows for large scale production. These steps are:

1. Synthesis: a novel pre-cure step with subsequent gelation (RF precursor solution is heated with stirring to achieve a mixed liquid intermediate temperature, the precursor solution is then allowed to cool,…

Improving the active material of the Zn anode is critical to improving the practicality of Zn-MnO2 battery technology. LLNL researchers have developed a new category of 3D structured Zn anode using a direct-ink writing (DIW) printing process to create innovative hierarchical architectures.  The DIW ink, which is a gel-based mixture composed of zinc metal powder and organic binders, is…

The approach developed by LLNL researchers is to use computer-aided design and advanced manufacturing methods to fabricate two or more continuous electrode structures intertwining in 3D space.  This configuration provides improved control electric field uniformity and the ability to carry out multiple electrochemical reactions.  This invention utilizes design tools to create…

CMI—a DOE Energy Innovation Hub—is a public/private partnership led by the Ames Laboratory that brings together the best and brightest research minds from universities, national laboratories (including LLNL), and the private sector to find innovative technology solutions to make better use of materials critical to the success of clean energy technologies as well as develop resilient and secure…

To address the need for realistic and high-fidelity first responder training, a multidisciplinary team at LLNL has worked to establish the new gold standard simulator called TARANTULA (Tactical Augmented Reality Applications for Nuclear Emergency Support Team (NEST) Training using Livermore Analytics). TARANTULA is a scientifically accurate, fully functional, field-deployable simulator that…

This novel detector for characterizing IFE implosions is an alternative to the current RTNADs to measure neutron fluxes > 3x10¹¹ neutrons/cm² at high shot rates. The detector consists of a stack of small square metal wafers separated by thin insulating spacers. Every other wafer is held at high voltage while the remaining wafers are grounded. The stack acts as an…

To address many of the aforementioned challenges of manufacturing LIBs and SSBs, LLNL researchers have developed a number of inventions that offer proposed solutions for their components:

To overcome challenges that existing techniques for creating 3DGs face, LLNL researchers have developed a method that uses a light-based 3D printing process to rapidly create 3DG lattices of essentially any desired structure with graphene strut microstructure having pore sizes on the order of 10 nm. This flexible technique enables printing 3D micro-architected graphene objects with complex,…

LLNL researchers have developed a new 3D printable lithium-air battery that uses a novel thin solid state ceramic electrolyte.   LLNL’s invention overcomes the combined challenges of low power density and low cycle life in previously designed lithium-air batteries by using solid state electrolytes to achieve stability and multiscale structuring of the electrolyte to achieve low…

LLNL’s novel approach is to use a continuous moving camera with a scan speed of >1 mm/sec and a frame rate of 100 frames per second.  The key is to have a light source that flashes with a duration of one nanosecond, thus essentially freezing the image with no blur.  Clear images of high resolution can then be captured through a high-magnification objective lens (reflection mode)…

CSP-POST provides the capability to inspect all incoming and outgoing emails while providing after-the-fact forensic capabilities. Using commercially available lightweight and serverless technologies, CSP-POST easily collects all email and parses it into easily searchable metadata, enriched and ready for analysis. The web-based application is deployed in a repeatable, testable, and auditable…

U.S. Patent No. 11,555,965 describes LLNL’s invention of “Illumination Frustums” for photoconductive switches to capture and “frustrate” the light from leaving the frustum.  LLNL researcher’s latest novel invention, “Twister Oven”, achieves this by encouraging laser light absorption in a photo conductor material.  Light enters the oven twisting and reflecting, making near normal…

The novel approach developed by LLNL researchers is to use an electric field as the non-contact-based powder remover.  The main components of the remover are an electrode and a dielectric layer.  As the remover moves across the stage, a high voltage is applied to the electrode that forms an electric field between the electrode and the powder bed.  Under the influence of the…

LLNL’s novel approach utilizes a number of techniques to improve reconstruction accuracy:

• Better coding scheme-based techniques
• Hardware-assisted techniques
• Adaptive fringe projection techniques
• Multi-exposure based techniques

The method requires specific calibration procedures and control of the hardware, which is achieved through a digital twin…

For cooling a high power device, the novel approach is to use a thermoelectric cooler (TEC)-based embedded substrate with proper selection of the TEC material as an active cooler.  The packaging configuration of TEC allows cooling the entire die without the use of a fluid.  The process is compatible with the thin film TEC material.  Standard semiconductor processes can be used…

This novel AM approach utilizes cavitation bubbles generated within liquid resin by ultrasonic energy that trigger, induce, or catalyze a polymerization process (3D Ultrasound Polymerization). Ultrasound may be generated by piezoelectric transducers or high-power lasers and by modulating the ultrasound wave (frequency and amplitude), the cavitation site could be directed.

LLNL has invented a new system that uses public key cryptography to differentiate between human-generated text and AI-generated text. This invention can be used to validate that text is likely to be human generated for the purposes of sorting or gatekeeping on the internet, can detect cheating on essay assignments, and can be used as an automatic captcha that does away with the hassle of…

LLNL’s MVAM method comprises of a microwave applicator array coupled to a time-reversal beam steering algorithm to focus and deposit microwave energy in the feedstock material.  The selective focusing of high-power microwave fields results in delivery of localized energy to arbitrary regions in a 3D volume.  The localized area in the 3D volume heats up, allowing for the curing,…

The approach is to combine the techniques of 3D printing aligned carbon fiber composites and melt-3D printing of glasses in a non-obvious manner to allow 3D printing (with controlled microstructure, fiber alignment, complex geometries, and advanced second order composite properties) of a new class of additively manufactured fiber-glass composites.  It involves four major elements: …

The approach is to use peroxides to modify the reaction kinetics in the production of polysiloxanes.  A radical initiator in the presence of a hydride-terminated polysiloxane will increase the rate of curing and reduce manufacturing costs.  At a minimum a formulation would contain a hydride-terminated polysiloxane, a platinum catalyst, and an initiator that generates radicals. …

The novel technology developed at LLNL is a new, effective means of separating and concentrating Sc from lanthanides and non-REEs in unconventional, waste-derived feedstocks, thereby transforming an essentially valueless solution into valuable Sc concentrates.  The results represent an important advance in the development of an environmentally sustainable alternative to organic solvent-…

LLNL’s approach to producing refractive index matching (RIM) resin is to use a commercially available material known as polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) precursors.  To tune the refractive index, POSS can be functionalized with additives such as phenylthiol, until the refracted index match is achieved.  For example, for a 1.4 NA oil objective lens, a RIM resin with a…

LLNL’s approach to the development of a wide-field, three-dimensional quantum (3DQ) microscope is to harness quantum entangled photons to form simultaneous 3D optical images, which could be a new paradigm for 3D volumetric imaging of biological specimens.  The 3DQ microscope is comprised of a novel optical system with highly sensitive detectors and an on-demand light source of entangled…

To get the best of both worlds – the sensitivity of LC-MS with the speed of PS-MS – and a functional substrate that can maintain sample integrity, LLNL researchers looked to 3D printing.  They have patented a novel approach to create lattice spray substrates for direct ionization mass spectroscopy using 3D-printing processes.

LLNL researchers faced this challenge by bridging the gap between VEDs and solid-state electronics (SSE).  Their approach was to create a hybrid vacuum microelectronic device (VMD) architecture that combines the properties of vacuum as the electronic medium and the compact form factor and manufacturing scalability of semiconductor microelectronic chips.

LLNL researchers have discovered that some inexpensive and commercially available molecules used for other applications, could render certain lanthanide and actinide elements highly fluorescent. These molecules are not sold for applications involving the detection of REEs and actinides via fluorescence. They are instead used as additives in cosmetic products and/or in the pharmaceutical…

For this method, a Silicon on Insulator (SOI) wafer is used to tailor etch rates and thickness in initial steps of the process.  The simple three step process approach is comprised of grayscale lithography, deep reactive-ion etch (DRIE) and liftoff of the SOI wafer.  The liftoff process is used to dissolve the insulating layer, thus separating sections of the wafer as individual…

LLNL’s novel approach combines 2-color spectroscopy with CRDS, a combination not previously utilized.

The approach is to use Charge Balance Layers (CBLs) to create a superjunction device in wide bandgap materials.  These CBLs enable the device to effectively spread the electric field over 2- or 3-dimensions within a semiconductor voltage sustaining layer instead of 1-dimension, thereby increasing the maximum voltage a device is capable of withstanding.  The challenge of using CBLs is…

LLNL researchers, through careful control over the chemistry, network formation, and crosslink density of the ink formulations as well as introduction of selected additives, have been successful in preparing 3D printable silicone inks with tunable material properties.  For DIW (direct in writing) applications, LLNL has a growing IP portfolio around 3D printable silicone feedstocks for…

This invention discloses a method to minimize transient variations in the wavelength- and/or pointing-behavior of an optic, without requiring a reduction in its thermal resistance, optical absorption, or operating irradiance. The invention employs a combination of a time-varying heat source and time-varying thermal resistance and/or heat sink temperature to achieve temperature stability of the…

LLNL researchers along with collaborators at Pennsylvania State University have found that a newly discovered natural protein named Lanmodulin (LanM) could be a potential candidate for extracting REEs from ore or other sources such as coal ash as well as purifying the REE material.  Through joint research, the scientists found that LanM undergoes a large conformational change in response…

The approach is to build a high voltage insulator consisting of two materials:  Poly-Ether-Ether-Ketone (“PEEK”) and Machinable Ceramic (“MACOR”).  PEEK has a high stress tolerance but cannot withstand high temperatures, while MACOR has high heat tolerance but is difficult to machine and can be brittle.  MACOR is used for the plasma-facing surface, while PEEK will handle the…

This novel method of producing waveplates from isotropic optical materials (e.g. fused silica) consists of forming a void-dash metasurface using the following process steps:

Design and construction of a photoconductive switch requires a diamond photoconductor illuminated by light of a certain excitation wavelength.  The diamond material is specifically doped with substitutional nitrogen, which act as a source of electrons.  The device architecture allows maximum light entering the aperture.  The top and bottom electrodes are made of ultra wide band…

The approach is to use a custom-designed frustrum and attach it to the optical fiber that connects to the PCSS.  Light from the fiber enters the frustrum, spreads out, and enters the PCSS.  Any unabsorbed light re-enters the frustrum and, because of its geometry, reflects back into the PCSS itself with only a negligible fraction escaping from the fiber.  The shape of the novel…

This technology can replace combustion heat with renewable energy in the form of electricity from variable renewable energy (VRE), such as photovoltaic (PV) solar and clean hydrogen (H2). Granular media functions as a heat-storage medium that enables renewable energy to be time-shifted from when it is available to when it is needed by an industrial process. The heated granular media, as the…

The novel LLNL approach is to use projection microstereolithography (LAPµSL), starting with a photocurable methacrylate resin formulation consisting of a combination of a photoinitiator, photoabsorber, inhibitor, solvents, and other additives.  Prior to use, the resin is pretreated to control viscosity for easier handling.  The resin is fed to a LAPµSL printer which employs a near UV…

LLNL researchers have developed a custom formulated extreme low viscosity reactive silicone resin base modified with a temperature dependent thixotrope along with a modified catalyst package.  The uncatalyzed composition is capable of accepting loadings of polymer microspheres sufficient to produce a cured bulk rubber that has a density as low as 0.3 g/cc, thus compatible with high-…

The inventors have developed a 3% Yttria partially-stabilized Zirconia (3YZ) ceramic ink that produces parts with both nano and microporosity and is compatible with two AM techniques: DIW and projection microstereolithography (PμSL). The 3YZ nano-porous ceramic printed parts had engineered macro cavities measuring several millimeters in length, wall thicknesses ranging from 200 to 540 μm, and…

This invention concerns a new type of optic: a transient gas or plasma volume grating produced indirectly by small secondary lasers or directly by nonlinear processes using the primary beams themselves. When used in conjunction with advantageously placed shielding it offers a means of protecting the final optical components of a high-repetition-rate IFE facility. These transmission optics are…

This invention utilizes transmission gratings to combine lasers of the same wavelength into a single collinear output. The transmission grating can be an all-bulk structure fabricated in fused silica, silicon, diamond, silicon nitride, etc. The transmission grating can also have dielectric coatings to increase diffraction efficiency and optical bandwidth. This invention makes possible…

LLNL researchers in the NIF Directorate DoD Technologies RF Photonics Group explored phase modulation solutions to this signal processing challenge. Optical frequency combs offer phase noise characteristics that are orders of magnitude lower than available from commercial microwave references. The Photonics Group researchers recognized that by converting the intensity information into phase,…

LLNL’s SAS technology embedded within a facility is developed to sense, detect, localize, alert, and communicate an active shooter(s) to first responders.  It relies on three integrated compact sensors that detect sound, infrared light (from the muzzle blast) and vibrations emanating from a gunshot.  Fusing the data from these detectors minimizes false alarms.

The key to time-reversal for an active shooter detection/tracking application is being able to estimate the space-time transfer function (Green’s function) between source-enclosure-receiver.  This approach begins with the acoustic mapping of an indoor muzzle blast. 

LLNL researchers have developed a lightweight drone-based GPR array that when flown over a surface with laid and/or buried objects could image the field of view and be able to detect targets and discriminate them from clutter. The imaging method employs a modified multi-static architecture to provide the highest signal to noise with the lowest system weight, making it ideal for airborne or…

This technology uses three different frequency bands to create intensity maps of returned signals.  Signals have traditionally been displayed as raw return data. The intensity of the return is represented by level of brightness. Assignment of a scalar value for intensity is used to determine the brightness of the image.   In this technology, each frequency is given a designated…

To address shortcomings of current liposome drug delivery systems, the patented innovation uses drug-loaded liposomes containing carbon nanotube porins (CNTPs) inserted into the liposomal membranes for the delivery of the encapsulated drugs. Short CNTPs (10 nm in length) with narrow diameter (0.8 nm) has been demonstrated to facilitate efficient fusion of lipid bilayers resulting in the…

A new approach of developing synthetic antibacterial mineral assemblages can be used as an alternative treatment when traditional antibiotics fail in clinical and agricultural settings. Mineral mixtures can be synthesized with tunable metal release and reactive oxygen species generation that are capable of killing human pathogens and promoting wound healing. One of the key components in the…

The method described in a pending patent application uses a novel thiacrown (dibenzohexathia-18-crown-6) for efficient extraction of ^197m,gHg and ^197gHg from irradiated Pt target foils. The separation of ^197m,gHg and ^197gHg from Pt foils using this novel thiacrown was found to be highly specific. No detectable amount of the Pt foil was seen in the…

This invention describes a multiple nozzle microfluidic unit that allows simultaneous generation streams of multiple layered coaxial liquid jets. Liquids are pumped into the device at a combined flow rate from 100 mL/hr to 10 L/hr. Droplets are created with diameters in the range of 1 µm to 5 mm and can be created with 1-2 shell layers encapsulating fluid. Droplets created from the system can…

The suppressor has a series of chambers for the propellant to flow through, but unlike all traditional suppressors, the chambers are open, not closed. The propellant is not trapped. It keeps moving. We manage its unimpeded flow through the suppressor. This is the key underlying technology of our suppressor design that enables all the improvements over the 100-year old traditional designs.

Combining the principles of nanotechnology, cell-free protein synthesis and microfluidics, LLNL researchers have developed a reusable, portable programmable system that can create purified, concentrated protein product in vitro in a microfluidic device containing nucleic acids.

Many of the disadvantages of current interface devices can be overcome with LLNL’s novel interface design, which relies on area array distribution where independent interface connector subassemblies are positioned in a planar grid.  Not only is the interface device expandable area-wise (without increasing contact force), but it could also be expanded height-wise, with multiple layers of…

To replicate the physiology and functionality of tissues and organs, LLNL has developed an in vitro device that contains 3D MEAs made from flexible polymeric probes with multiple electrodes along the body of each probe. At the end of each probe body is a specially designed hinge that allows the probe to transition from lying flat to a more upright position when actuated and then…

LLNL’s high throughput method involves proteome-wide screening for linear B-cell epitopes using native proteomes isolated from a pathogen of interest and convalescent sera from immunized animals.

LLNL’s method of 3D printing fiber-reinforced composites has two enabling features:

Commercial fiber optic cables are the current standard for carrying optical signals in industries like communications or medical devices. However, the fibers are made of glass, which do not have favorable characteristics for applications that require flexibility and re-routing, e.g. typically brittle, limited selection of materials, dimension constraints.

MBD captures the complete specification of a part in digital form and leverages (at least) the universal STEP file format. MBD has revolutionized manufacturing due to time and cost savings associated with containing all engineering data within a single digital source. LLNL researchers have been able to develop a novel encoding method to transform digital definitions in any given STEP file into…

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is offering the opportunity to collaborate in accelerating artificial intelligence (AI) for applied science, including research in key areas such as advanced material design, 3D printing, predictive biology, energy systems, “self-driving” lasers and fusion energy research.

LLNL has developed a method of extending device lifetimes by imprinting into the device a shape that excludes specific vibrational modes, otherwise known as a phononic bandgap. Eliminating these modes prevents one of the primary energy loss pathways in these devices. LLNL’s new method enhances the coherence of superconducting circuits by introducing a phononic bandgap around the system’s…

Solid-state distributed node-based rapid thermal cycler for extremely fast nucleic acid amplification (LLNL Internal Case # IL-12275, US Patent 8,720,209)

Laser heating of aqueous samples on a micro-optical-electro-mechanical system (LLNL Internal Case # IL-11719, US Patents 8,367,976;

LLNL researchers have designed a synthetic, concatemeric bacterial expression vector that expresses a protein sequence that can be digested into a single peptide. The synthetic protein is designed to be secreted outside E. coli cells, and therefore can be purified using a His-tag from the cell supernatant (thereby reducing the need to lyse the cells for purification).

LLNL scientists have created a technology that utilizes electrical means, instead of optical methods, to (1) provide label-free detection of droplet morphology; (2) manipulate droplet position through trapping and actuation; (3) track individual droplets in a heterogeneous droplet population; and (4) generate droplets with target characteristics automatically without optical intercession. The…

This device allows for observation of single cells encapsulated in droplets and provide the ability to recover droplets containing a cell of interest. This system provides the unique capability to monitor droplet contents from a few minutes to hours and overcome the limitations of the fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS) in the purification of cell populations. The ability of this…

This invention consists of a functionalized membrane (e.g. polyethylene glycol (PEG)) and osmosis or electric potential as a driving force. The PEG membrane provides high biological particles separation and prevents sample for clogging due to the strong hydration of functional polymers layer and their resistance to protein adsorption.

This invention is an improved chromatography device that utilizes the concept of a functionally graded material (FGM) for separation of components. The technology consists of a device that contains a FGM that is patterned to have a gradient in material properties (e.g. chemical affinity, surface chemistry, chirality, pore size, etc.) normal to the direction of flow of the mobile phase. The…

The art described here incorporates a planar integrated optical system that allows for multiple biochemical assays to be run at the same time or nearly the same time. Briefly, each assay can include one or more tags (e.g. dyes, other chemicals, reagents) whose optical characteristics change based on chemical characteristics of the biological sample being tested.

This technology describes a method for partitioning fluid into “packets” between polymeric sheets. The fluid to be partitioned is introduced between two polymeric layers or within a polymeric channel and the layers are sealed together to form an array or sequence of individual milliliter to picoliter samples as shown in figure below. This approach allows a continuous flow of samples through…

LLNL researchers have developed a variation of AMS technology that improves sample preparation, analysis, and cost for AMS. The device involves depositing liquid samples on an indented moving wire and passing the moving wire through a combustion oven to convert the carbon content of samples to carbon dioxide gas in a helium stream. The gas is then directed via a capillary to a high efficiency…

LLNL has invented a new high-throughput assay for sample separation that uses the vibrations of a piezoelectric transducer to produce acoustic radiation forces within microfluidic channels. The system includes a separation channel for conveying a sample fluid containing the different size particles, an acoustic transducer and a recovery fluid stream. The polymeric films containing the…

LLNL researchers have developed an apparatus capable of measuring and recording ultraviolet radiation that uses the Schottky diode/ZnSe/metal type UV sensor. This device can detect both UV-A (320-400nm) and UV-B(280-320nm) radiation. The present invention can also measure and accumulate doses with good sensitivity, and it can also store and make available the readings to be downloaded for…

The invention developed by LLNL researchers proposes to use staged isotachophoresis to improve sample separation. One of the problems with isotachophoresis is that there is a tradeoff between the diameter of the separation column and the ability to isolate a species into a detectable band. For example, wider diameter channels run faster, but narrower channels provide better ability to isolate…

LLNL researchers have devolved a technique to separate or purify samples using electrophoretic separation. This invention corrects the problem associated with pH changes by using the electrode, which contacts the sample, itself a high-conductivity electrolyte made of liquid or gel materials. This will keep the metal surface electrochemistry physically remote from the sample, while…

Researchers at LLNL have developed a more efficient and cost-effective method and system for synthesizing a critical D-aminoluciferin precursor and related compounds. D-aminoluciferin is as active as luciferin and provides a free -NH2 group for functionalization to attach peptide sequences corresponding to the cleavage site of a protease. This allows for the synthesis of bioluminescent probes…

LLNL's technology employs improved sorting strategies related to chip-based droplet sorting. This technology uses electromagnetic fields and non-contact methods to sort and identify monodispersed water-in-oil emulsion droplets in a microfluidic chip-based device. The system selects individual droplets from a continuous stream based on optical or non-optical detection methods as…

Researchers at LLNL have developed a method to passively sort individual microdroplet samples of uniform size based on stiffness and viscosity. Unlike electrical or optical methods for droplet sorting, this apparatus does not require a measurement step. Instead, particle separation occurs through changes in shearing forces determined by the stiffness of the particles in the microdroplet sample…

LLNL researchers have created a method that uses isotachophoresis for the exclusion and or purification of nucleic acids. Isotachopheresis (ITP) is an electrophoretic separation technique that leverages a heterogeneous buffer system of disparate electrophoretic mobilities. The researchers created a transverse ITP system that offers high-throughput sample preparation as the amount of sample…

The steady-state phenomenon generates thousands of microdroplets per second which is a problem when the stream of droplets needs to be slowed down or stopped. LLNL technology provides a method for generating and trapping microdroplets at a desired location and subsequently stopping the stream of microdroplets without droplet coalescence. These microdroplets can then be chemically reacted,…

The present invention uses magnetic fields to hold particles in place for faster DNA amplification and sequencing. This invention provides a method for faster DNA sequencing by amplification of the genetic material within microreactors, denaturing and de-emulsifying and then sequencing the material while retaining it in the PCR/sequencing zone by a magnetic field. Briefly, nucleic acid…

This invention is designed to sort and identify complex samples using parallel nucleic acid characterization. By isolating single or double stranded nucleic acids derived from complex samples, researchers can sequence previously unknown genetic material to identify novel viruses and organisms. The chip-based microfluidic system achieves this through microdroplet PCR amplification,…

This technology is a photonic detection system developed by researchers at LLNL for the detection of biological or chemical threats with the intention of combining the collection, concentration and detection process onto a single platform. The present invention consists of a porous membrane containing flow-through photonic silicon crystals (see figure).

The described invention is a miniature fluidic device for separating particles suspended within a liquid sample that is introduced into the interior volume of the device. The device uses laminar flow and a combination of gravity and acoustic, electrophoretic, dielectrophoretic, and diffusion-based processes in concert to separate the different particle types and allow them to be collected…

Researchers at LLNL have developed a nanotube sensor (single-walled or multi-walled carbon nanotubes) enclosed within a highly selective lipid bilayer that can detect variations in ion transport using signal amplification generated from the disruption of protein pores across the lipid layer. Changes in the device’s transistor current are recorded by an external circuit with high efficiency as…

Researchers at LLNL have created a new technology for performing pumping and valving operations in microfabricated fluidic systems. Traditional microfabricated devices have some disadvantages that defeat the advantages of miniaturization. For example, they require high power and voltage, and they need specific fluids to work properly and to be broadly applicable. The technology described here…

To solve these challenges using new and existing CT system designs, LLNL has developed an innovative software package for CT data processing and reconstruction. Livermore Tomography Tools (LTT) is a modern integrated software package that includes all aspects of CT modeling, simulation, reconstruction, and analysis algorithms based on the latest research in the field. LTT contains the most…

LLNL has a successful history of developing instruments for detecting and characterizing airborne pathogens. Often, aerosol characterizing instruments require highly focused particle beams with little or no transmission losses. In addition, they need to interface to the sampling environment with a very high sampling rate so that more aerosol particles can be collected and sensitivity can be…

LLNL scientists have designed a rapid PCR technology that incorporates the use of microfluidic thermal heat exchanger systems and is comprised of a porous internal medium, with two outlet channels, two tanks, and one or more exchanger wells for sample receiving. The wells and their corresponding inlet channels are coupled to two tanks that contain fluid with cold and hot temperatures. A…

LLNL has developed a new technology that provides a method for near-instantaneous heating of aqueous samples in microfluidic devices. The technology relates to a heating method that employs microwave energy absorption from a coincident low power Co-planar waveguide or microwave microstrip transmission line embedded in a microfluidic channel to instantaneously heat samples. The method heat…

Researchers at LLNL have developed an instantaneous sample heating method to efficiently deposit thermal energy into a continuous stream or segmented microdroplets on a MOEMS device using an optimally low energy, commercially available CO2 laser. The device uses an ideal wavelength (absorption in the far infra-red (FIR) region (λ=10.6 μm)) to instantaneously heat fluidic partitions. The…

Researchers at LLNL have designed a new technology that allows the integration of a large bench-top thermal cycling instrument onto a miniaturized instrument. This instrument is powered and controlled by portable thumb-drive systems such as an USB. USB thumb-drives are commonly used to transfer data from the instrument onto a PC, however, in this new technology the thumb drive becomes the…

LLNL researchers have developed a high-volume, low-cost diagnostic test that is easy to use and provides results in under an hour. The testing platform will provide emergency responders and other medical professionals with the ability to screen individuals using oral and nasal samples, and obtain results in approximately 30 minutes. This point-of-care testing approach will enable rapid triage…

This technology describes a method for performing immediate in-line sample heating to promote the required chemical reactions for amplification, activation, or detection, depending on the thermodynamics of the particular assay involved. The basis of this technology is a method that employ microwave energy absorption to instantaneously heat fluidic partitions without heating the device itself…

LLNL researchers have developed a new method for faster, more accurate, and precise thermal control for DNA amplification. This technology uses sensor-controlled nodes to monitor and cycle materials through a microfluidic heat exchanging system. Thermal energy travels from a power module through thermal electric elements to sample wells. Sensors coupled to each sample well monitor and respond…

Clinical images have a wealth of data that are currently untapped by physicians and machine learning (ML) methods alike. Most ML methods require more data than is available to sufficiently train them. In order to obtain all data contained in a clinical image, it is imperative to be able to utilize multimodal, or various types of, data such as tags or identifications, especially where spatial…

Some COVID-19 diagnoses are utilizing computed tomography (CT)-scans for triage. CT-scans produce immediate results with high sensitivity. The digital images produced by a CT-scan require physicians to identify objects within the image to determine the presence of disease. Object identification can be done using machine learning (ML) techniques such as deep learning (DL) to improve speed and…

The innovators have modified a epoxide-assisted sol-gel method to produce chlorine-free, monolithic REO aerogels in just a matter of hours. This method was demonstrated for the lanthanide series. An important factor in realizing the sol-gel transition with the nitrate precursor was the addition of a key ingredient and moderate heat.. These alcogels can then be dried and calcined to produce…

MimicGAN represents a new generation of methods that can “self-correct” for unseen corruptions in the data out in the field. This is particularly useful for systems that need to be deployed autonomously without needing constant intervention such as Automated Driver Assistance Systems. MimicGAN achieves this by treating every test sample as “corrupt” by default. The goal is to determine (a) the…

Livermore Lab researchers have developed a tunable shaped charge which comprises a cylindrical liner commonly a metal such as copper or molybdenum but almost any solid material can be used and a surround layer of explosive in which the detonation front is constrained to propagate at an angle with respect to the charge axis.  The key to the concept is the ability to deposit a surrounding…

LLNL scientists developed novel hydrogels, which are biodegradable soft materials synthesized by a water-soluble polymer. Incorporating silver imparts antimicrobial activity to the material at low concentration compared to currently used silver nanoparticles. Our hydrogels are composed of silver ions instead of silver nanoparticles, which eliminates the toxicity concerns of modern silver…

LLNL researchers have invented a system for identifying all known and unknown pathogenic or non-pathogenic organisms in a sample. This invention takes a complex sample and generates droplets from it. The droplets consist of sub-nanoliter volume reactors which contain the organism sized particles. A lysis device lyses the organisms and releases the nucleic acids. An amplifier then magnifies the…

LLNL researchers have developed a method to quickly and accurately identify the family of a virus infecting a vertebrate via PCR. Universal primer sets consisting of short nucleic acid strands of 7 to 30 base pairs in length were created to amplify target sequences of viral DNA or RNA. These primers can amplify certain identifying sequences of all viral genomes sequenced to date as well as…

LLNL scientists have developed a method to ensure the accuracy of that tomographic image by applying adaptive optics (AO) to OCT in a single instrument (AO-OCT). AO stabilizes the image being captured by the OCT device by utilizing a Hartmann-Shack wavefront sensor and a deformable mirror, a type of mirror designed to compensate for detected waveform abnormalities (such as ones caused by a…

LLNL scientists have developed a battery-powered device which is low-cost and multi-chambered for the extraction and amplification of nucleic acids from environmental, clinical, and laboratory samples via loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP). This platform identifies pathogenic bacteria and assists in determining the optimal treatment plan. A multi-chamber amplification cartridge in…

LNLL scientists have invented a method for multiplexed detection of PCR amplified products which can be completed in a single step. Highly validated species-specific primer sets are used to simultaneously amplify multiple diagnostic regions unique to each individual pathogen. Resolution of the mix of amplified products is achieved by PCR product hybridization to corresponding probe sequences,…

LLNL researchers have developed a portable device which analyzes one or multiple types of body fluids or gases to test for one or more medical conditions. A bodily fluid (such as blood, perspiration, saliva, breath, or urine) is put into a condenser surface and is then separated into both a primarily gas fluid component and a second one that is primarily liquid. These two samples from the same…

LLNL scientists have developed a high-confidence, real-time multiplexed reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR) rule-out assay for foot and mouth disease virus (FMDV). It utilizes RT-PCR to amplify both DNA and RNA viruses in a single assay to detect FMDV as well as rule out other viruses that cause symptoms in livestock indistinguishable from those caused by FMDV, such as Bovine Herpes Virus-1 (…

This LLNL-developed invention is multiplexed and utilizes the Luminex bead-based liquid array, which contains 100 different unique beads. Oligonucleotide probes with sequences complementary to the target sequences are covalently coupled to these unique beads. These capture beads are mixed with viral samples obtained from the patient via cheek swabbing or a throat wash and subjected to PCR in a…

Livermore Lab's SBC grating optics benefit from the combination of the following key technologies:

• LLNL proprietary optical coating designs utilizing >100 thin film layers – enables ultra-low-loss, ppm transmission levels through the coating, high diffraction efficiency, and large bandwidth.
• LLNL proprietary dispersive surface relief structure…

The LiDO code combines finite element analysis, design sensitivity analysis and nonlinear programming in a High-Performance Computing (HPC) environment that enables the solution of large-scale structural optimization problems in a computationally efficient manner. Currently, the code uses topology optimization strategies in which a given material is optimally distributed throughout the domain…

Using native bacterial regulatory systems, LLNL researchers have developed whole-cell biosensors that can be used in aqueous samples for sensitive and selective in situ detection of the uranyl oxycation (UO22+), the most toxic and stable form of U in oxygenated environments. Specifically, two functionally independent, native U-responsive regulatory systems, UzcRS and UrpRS, were integrated…

Livermore Lab researchers have developed a method that combines additive manufacturing (AM) with an infill step to render a final component which is energetic. In this case, AM is first used to print a part of the system, and this material can either be inert or energetic on its own. A second material is subsequently added to the structure via a second technique such as casting, melt…

LLNL's 3D X-ray imager combines two different hardware pieces. The first is an x-ray optic with a depth-of-field that is small compared to the object under investigation. Reflective Wolter type x-ray optics are one such design. These hollow optics have a relatively large collection efficiency and can be designed with a large field of view. The depth of focus, which is the distance over which a…

Livermore researchers have developed two novel TiCl4 based non-alkoxide sol-gel approaches for the synthesis of SiO2/TiO2 nanocomposite aerogels. Composite SiO2-TiO2 aerogels were obtained by epoxide-assisted gelation (EAG route) of TiCl4/DMF solution in the presence SiO2 aerogel particles. Additionally, the same TiCl4/DMF solution was employed to prepare SiO2@TiO2 aerogels by a facile one-…

The LLNL method is based on freeze‐casting of aerosolized and pressurized metal salt solutions and subsequent thermal processing. This method generates both porous particles with sizes down to one micron and macroscopic monoliths with nanometer scale ligaments/struts. The material's density can be controlled during the freeze‐dried stage. Compared to conventional approaches, this method…

LLNL researchers have designed and tested performance characteristics for a multichannel pyrometer that works in the NIR from 1200 to 2000 nm. A single datapoint without averaging can be acquired in 14 microseconds (sampling rate of 70,000/s). In conjunction with a diamond anvil cell, the system still works down to about 830K.

LLNL uses the additive manufacturing technique known as Electrophoretic Deposition to shape the source particle material into a finished magnet geometry. The source particle material is dispersed in a liquid so that the particles can move freely. Electric fields in the shape of the finished product then draw the particles to the desired location to form a “green body”, much like an unfired…

LLNL has developed a system and method that accomplishes volumetric fabrication by applying computed tomography (CT) techniques in reverse, fabricating structures by exposing a photopolymer resin volume from multiple angles, updating the light field at each angle. The necessary light fields are spatially and/or temporally multiplexed, such that their summed energy dose in a target resin volume…

Monolithic Telescopes are a novel implementation of a solid catadioptric design form, instantiated in a monolithic block of fused silica.

LLNL has developed a new method for securely processing protected data on HPC systems with minimal impact on the existing HPC operations and execution environment. It can be used with no alterations to traditional HPC operations and can be managed locally. It is fully compatible with traditional (unencrypted) processing and can run other jobs, unencrypted or not, on the cluster simultaneously…

LLNL has developed a reference electrode that is a great improvement on the widely used silver or platinum wire QRE commonly used in electrochemistry in ionic liquids. This new reference electrode, based on a silver-sulfide coated silver wire, exhibits greatly improved stability over a QRE. The stability of our RE approaches that of the Ag/Ag+ RE, but unlike the Ag/Ag+ RE, the RE reported here…

LLNL has a patented process to produce colloidal silica directly from geothermal fluids. Livermore’s process uses membranes to produce a mono-dispense slurry of colloidal silica particles for which there are several applications. LLNL has demonstrated that colloidal silica solutions that result from extraction of silica from geothermal fluids undergo a transition to a solid gel over a range of…

LLNL has developed a liquid-free method that increases the overall mechanical resistance of self-supported, carbon nanotube assemblies through nanoscale reinforcement by gas-phase deposition of a thermally cross-linkable polymer. Polymer-reinforcement increases the strength of CNT yarns after crosslinking. For example, a minimal amount (<200 nm) of poly-glycidyl metacrylate (PGMA) deposited…

LLNL has developed an optically clear iodine-doped resist that increases the mean atomic number of the part. AM parts fabricated with this resist appear radio-opaque due to an increase in the X-ray attenuation by a factor of 10 to 20 times. Optical clarity is required so that the photons can penetrate the liquid to initiate polymerization and radio opacity is required to enable 3D computed…

The LLNL method for optimizing as built optical designs uses insights from perturbed optical system theory and reformulates perturbation of optical performance in terms of double Zernikes, which can be calculated analytically rather than by tracing thousands of rays. A new theory of compensation is enabled by the use of double Zernikes which allows the performance degradation of a perturbed…

LLNL has solved the challenges of depth-resolved parallel TPL by using a temporal focusing technique in addition to the spatial focusing technique used in serial writing systems. We temporally focus the beam (through optical set-up design) so that a sharp Z-plane can be resolved while projecting 2D “light sheets” that cause localized photo-polymerization. This enables printing of complex 3D…

LLNL's method of equivalent time sampling incorporates an embedded system that generates the pulses used to trigger the external circuit and the data acquisition (DAQ). This removes the external reference clock, allowing the overall system clock rate to change based on the ability of the embedded system. The time delays needed to create the time stepping for equivalent time sampling is done by…

By combining 3D printing and dealloying., researchers at LLNL have developed a method for fabricating metal foams with engineered hierarchical architectures consisting of pores at least 3 distinct length scales. LLNL’s method uses direct ink writing (DIW), a 3D printing technique for additive manufacturing to fabricate hierarchical nanoporous metal foams with deterministically controlled 3D…

There are three main components to the RaFTS system: 1) the radiation detector, which can be of any type and from any manufacturer; 2) the RaFTS electronics, which produce the electronic pulses that are injected into the electronics of the radiation detector through a (to be) standardized port interface; and 3) the exercise scenario, which defines the synthetic radiation field and time-varying…

Simrev is a python library imported into a user-generated program. As the program grows in capability and complexity, the engineered product matures. The "software twin" handles all changes to product configuration and is the portal to running supercomputing analysis and managing workflow for engineering simulation codes. Assemblies become program modules; parts, materials, boundary conditions…

LLNL researchers have developed an alternative route to protective breathable membranes called Second Skin technology, which has transformative potential for protective garments. These membranes are expected to be particularly effective in mitigating physiological burden.

For additional information see article in Advanced Materials “Ultrabreathable and Protective Membranes with Sub-5…

LLNL has developed a new active memory data reorganization engine. In the simplest case, data can be reorganized within the memory system to present a new view of the data. The new view may be a subset or a rearrangement of the original data. As an example, an array of structures might be more efficiently accessed by a CPU as a structure of arrays. Active memory can assemble an alternative…

The novel LLNL technique uses electric fields to drive and control assembly. In the literature such methods have heretofore only formed disordered ensembles. This innovative method increases local nanocrystal concentration, initiating nucleation and growth into ordered superlattices. Nanocrystals remain solvated and mobile throughout the process, allowing fast fabrication of ordered…

LLNL researchers have developed a custom resin formulation which uses a dispersing solvent and only a multifunctional monomer as the binding agent. The dispersing solvent system typically used has multiple components meant to achieve excellent dispersal of silica in order to create a flowable resin (rather than a paste). The dispersing agent has low vapor pressure, which allows the 3D printed…

LLNL researchers have developed a novel method of 3D printing regular microstructured architectures and subsequent complex macrostructures from additively manufactured bio-based composite thermoset shape memory polymer composite materials. This technology for 3D additively manufactured parts utilizes up to a 4 axis control DIW system for fabricating bio­ based thermally cured epoxy based SMP…

LLNL researchers have developed the hardware and chemistry to allow additive manufacturing of short carbon fibers in a thermoset polymer matrix which have a high degree of structural alignment over conventional cast or pressed short/chopped carbon fiber polymer composites.

The invention is based on the shear dispersal, alignment and concentration of fiber fraction within a resin…

LLNL’s Optically-based Interstory Drift Meter System provides a means to accurately measure the dynamic interstory drift of a vibrating building (or other structure) during earthquake shaking. This technology addresses many of the shortcomings associated with traditional strong motion accelerometer based building monitoring.

LLNL’s discrete diode position sensitive device is a newly…

LLNL has developed a new system, called the Segmentation Ensembles System, that provides a simple and general way to fuse high-level and low-level information and leads to a substantial increase in overall performance of digital image analysis. LLNL researchers have demonstrated the effectiveness of the approach on applications ranging from automatic threat detection for airport security, to…

LLNL has developed a brain-on-a-chip system with a removable cell-seeding funnel to simultaneously localize neurons from various brain regions in an anatomically relevant manner and over specific electrode regions of a MEA. LLNL’s novel, removable cell seeding funnel uses a combination of 3D printing and microfabrication that allows neurons from select brain regions to easily be seeded into…

LLNL scientists have developed a new metal additive manufacturing technique that uses diode lasers in conjunction with a programmable mask to generate 2D patterns of energy at the powder surface. The method can produce entire layers in a single laser shot, rather than producing layers spot by spot as is currently done in powder bed fusion methods.

A ceramic HEPA filter designed to meet commercial and DOE requirements, as well as to minimize upgrade installation logistics for use in existing facilities. Current key performance requirements are described in DOE Standard 3020. The ceramic filter is designed to be nonflammable, corrosion resistant, and compatible with high temperatures and moisture. The ceramic filter will significantly…

LLNL's X-ray spectrometers based on STJ have been developed for high-resolution soft X-ray spectroscopy. STJ consist of two superconducting thin film electrodes separated by a thin insulating tunnel barrier. They measure X-ray energies from the increase in tunneling current after X-ray absorption in one of the electrodes excites additional charge carriers above the superconducting energy gap.…

LLNL is developing the Space-based Telescopes for Actionable Refinement of Ephemeris (STARE). STARE is a constellation of low cost nano-satellites (less than 5Kg) in low-earth orbit dedicated to the observation of space debris in conjunction with a ground-based infrastructure for maintenance, coordination and data processing. Each nano-satellite in the constellation is capable of recording an…

LLNL has developed a novel process of production, isolation, characterization, and functional re-constitution of membrane-associated proteins in a single step. In addition, LLNL has developed a colorimetric assay that indicates production, correct folding, and incorporation of bR into soluble nanolipoprotein particles (NLPs).

LLNL has developed an approach, for formation of NLP/…

Using various excitation wavelengths, a hyperspectral microscope takes advantage of autofluorescence and polarized light scattering from cellular components to obtain composite images that highlight their presence. The light collection efficiency is maximized to achieve image acquisition times and rates suitable for in vivo applications.

Dubbed the "LLNL Chemical Prism", the LLNL system has use wherever there is a need to separate components of a fluid. A few examples include:

• Chemical detection for known and previously unknown chemicals or substances
• Separation of biomolecules from a cellular extract
• Fractionation of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons
• Forensic analysis of…

LLNL's high fidelity hydrocode is capable of predicting blast loads and directly coupling those loads to structures to predict a mechanical response. By combining this code and our expertise in modeling blast-structure interaction and damage, along with our access to experimental data and testing facilities, we can contribute to the design of protective equipment that can better mitigate the…

LLNL has developed a radiation detector that cools to operating temperatures in 1-2 hours using two separate cooling stages. The first cooling brings the instrument to operating temperature. The embedded second cooling system achieves portable detection that can be sustained for 8-12 hours.

In addition, an integrated, hermetically-sealed package has been developed complete with…

Transparent ceramic fabrication allows the production of gadolinium- , lutetium-, and terbium-based garnets which are difficult to grow by melt techniques due to phase instabilities. Phase stabilization of the garnets is accomplished by the addition of the intersubstitutional ions, Gallium and/or Scandium.

Scientists have developed many versatile and scaleable fabrication methods.…

LLNL researchers have grown and characterized scintillator crystals of Strontium Iodide (SrI2). Scintillator energy resolution and light yield proportionality surpass NaI and are similar to LaBr3. The SrI2 scintillators doped with europium (Eu) exhibit very high light yields (> 100,000 photons/MeV), extremely good energy resolution (<3% at 662 keV) and excellent light yield…

Nanomaterials that are emerging out of cutting edge nanotechnology research are a key component for an energy revolution. Carbon-based nanomaterials are ushering in the "new carbon age" with carbon nanotubes, nanoporous carbons, and graphene nanosheets that will prove necessary to provide sustainable energy applications that lessen our dependence on fossil fuels.

Carbon aerogels (CAs)…

An invention at LLNL uses a mixture of solid and liquid dielectric media. This combination has properties that are an improvement over either separately. The solid phase, in the form of small pellets, inhibits fluid motion, which reduces leakage currents, while the liquid phase (dielectric oil) provides self-repair capabilities. Also, since the media is removable, the high voltage equipment…

The new LLNL technique works by transiently removing and trapping concrete or rock surface material, so that contaminants are confined in a manner that is easy to isolate and remove. Our studies suggest that 10 m² of surface could be processed per hour. The technique easily scales to more surface/hr.

LLNL's Slurry Stabilization Method provides a chemical means of stabilizing a polishing compound in suspension at working concentrations without reducing the rate of material removal. The treated product remains stable for many months in storage.

LLNL’s BioBriefcase is a compact and portable instrument capable of autonomously detecting the full spectrum of bioagents, including bacteria, viruses and toxins in the air. It uses the state of art technologies to collect, process, and analyze samples to detect, and identify genetic and protein signatures of bioagents.

Scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have developed a plastic that can detect neutrons, something previously thought impossible.

Livermore scientists demonstrated a plastic scintillator that can discriminate between neutrons and gamma rays with a polyvinyltoluene (PVT) polymer matrix loaded with a scintillating dye, 2,5-diphenyloxazole (PPO). They have found that…

The biotech industry aims to move towards an on-chip system for sample generation, amplification and detection of both DNA and RNA based organisms. LLNL has invented a new way of isolating samples in a system.

This invention enables creation of partitioned fluid "packets" between polymeric sheets for chemical separation, DNA amplification or PCR-based DNA detection. The polymeric…

LLNL has developed a technology that provides near-instantaneous heating of aqueous samples in microfluidic devices. The method heats samples in a focused area within a microfluidic channel on miniaturized chips. The microwave heating device is composed of a waveguide or microstrip transmission line embedded in a microfluidic channel. Aqueous solution microwave heating allows extremely fast…

This technology uses either of two X-ray wave-front sensor techniques, Hartmann sensing and two-dimensional shear interferometry, both of which are capable of measuring the entire two-dimensional electric field, both the amplitude and the phase, with a single measurement. Capturing both the absorption and phase coefficients of the index of refraction can help to reconstruct the image.…

Chemical and biological sensors based on nanowire or nanotube technologies exhibit observable ultrasensitive detection limits due to their unusually large surface-to-volume architecture. This suggests that nanosensors can provide a distinct advantage over conventional designs. This advantage is further enhanced when the nanosensor can harvest its meager power requirements from the surrounding…

LLNL's neutron "Pillar Detector" fabrication technology uses semiconductor-based micro-structured elements as an electrical signal generation medium for the detection of neutrons. These materials in the form of semiconductor "pillars" embedded in matrix of high cross-section neutron converter materials (such as Boron) that emit charged particles upon interaction with neutrons. These charged…

LLNL has identified solution-grown organic crystals having scintillation efficiency not only close to, but even exceeding that of stilbene.. LLNL's invention relates to a new class of neutron detectors based on scintillation response of organic single crystals. More specifically, the use of organic molecules grown from solution and to molecules including the basic benzene or phenyl structure…

LLNL has developed a noble gas mass spectrometry facility that houses a state-of-the-art water-gas separation manifold and mass spectrometry system designed specifically for high throughput of groundwater samples. The fully automated, computer-controlled manifold system allows analysis of the full suite of noble gases (3He/4He, He, Ne, Ar, Kr, and Xe concentrations), along with low level…

The LLNL detector measures radiation over a large dynamic range, spanning both high hazardous levels and weak levels, including natural background radiation. In weak radiation fields, the detector also measures gamma-ray spectra. The cost of the detector is significantly less than the total cost of existing separate detectors that could perform the same measurements.

The invention utilizes the statistical nature of radiation transport as well as modern processing techniques to implement a physics-based, sequential statistical processor. By this we mean that instead of accumulating a pulse-height spectrum as is done in many other systems, each photon is processed individually upon arrival and then discarded. As each photon arrives, a decision is…

To overcome limitations with cellular silicone foams, LLNL innovators have developed a new 3D energy absorbing material with tailored/engineered bulk-scale properties. The energy absorbing material has 3D patterned architectures specially designed for specific energy absorbing properties. The combination of LLNL's capabilities in advanced modeling and simulation and the additive…

The technology that is available has the capability to inject realistic radiation detection spectra into the amplifier of a radiation detector and produce the all the observables that are available with that radiation detection instrument; count-rate, spectrum, dose rate, etc.

The system uses the capability of LLNL to generate the source output for virtually any source and determine…

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientists have developed a signal enhancing microchip apparatus and method that enhances a microfluidic detector's limits by magnetically focusing the target analytes in a zone of optical convergence. In summary, samples are associated with magnetic nanoparticles or magnetic polystyrene coated beads and moved down the flow channels until they are trapped…

The selected industrial partner and LLNL will enter into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) to develop the next generation of laser technologies for MEGa-ray systems and to create a next generation of MEGa-ray sources that could be marketed to both the industrial and academic communities.

The MEGa-ray system developed will be based on LLNL's proprietary, multi-…

LLNL has developed a wide band (WB) ground penetrating radar (GPR) technology to detect and image buried objects under a moving vehicle. Efficient and high performance processing algorithms reconstruct images of buried or hidden objects in two or three dimensions under a scanning array. The technology includes a mobile high-performance computing system allowing GPR array sensor data to be…

The Optical Transconductance Varistor (OTV, formerly Opticondistor) overcomes depletion region voltage limitations by optically exciting wide bandgap materials in a compact package. A 100μm thick crystal could have the capability approaching 40kV and would replace numerous equivalent junction devices. Thus, unlike present junction transistors or diodes, this wide bandgap device can be stacked…

LLNL has developed novel nanoporous carbon materials for the surface-stress-induced actuator technology. The morphology of these materials has been designed to combine high surface area and mechanical strength. The process allows for the fabrication of large monolithic pieces with low densities and high structural integrity. One actuation technology relies on electrochemically- induced changes…