Room Temperature Processing of Electrically Conducting Materials
ID# 2018-4801
Technology Summary
The present technology is a series of energy efficient metallic material processing techniques that are performed at room temperature, with a time scale of merely hours. The invention produces superior microstructures that makes metals and alloys strong, tough, and defect free. Improved microstructures are obtained by using an electrical current instead of high temperatures. Accordingly, the technique allows for low energy processing that gives improved metallic properties compared to conventional heat treatment methods for metals and alloys.
Application & Market Utility
This technology is particularly relevant to sheet metal companies who produce high quality materials or seek greater product efficiency. Furthermore, the present invention can also be used for annealing thin, cheap films to remove defects in conductive materials including semiconductors. Inventors have applied their metallic materials processing technology on different metals and were successful in all the cases. The specimens were small scale, 50 micrometers thick.
Next Steps
Inventors are in the process of scaling up their experiments by applying their invention on metals beyond a thickness of a few micrometers. Samples and experimental findings are available to share with prospective licensees.