Holography Patents issued to Steve McGrew

Many of the patents listed below are available for license. Equipment, training and technical support will be provided to licensees.

Quantum Resonance Analytical Instrument

U.S. Patent No. 6,930,779

This patent covers quantum based systems for detecting materials in a sample, including biological, chemical and physical materials. The systems are based on exciting the sample containing the material with a femtosecond to nanosecond probe pulse of collimated light, which is tailored to optimize detection of a given material by separating the probe pulse into component features of frequency, polarization, phase and/or amplitude.

Secure Documents and Document Security System

Chinese Patent ZL 01139602.4

This patent covers a document security system based on magnetic ink.

Retro-Emissive Markings

WO/2006/099317

This patent covers a retro-emissive marking system that returns a coded-spectrum optical signal to a source of an interrogation beam.

Quantum Resonance Analytical Instrument

US2003123051

This patent covers a radically new technique for identifying specific atoms, molecules, and cells. Femtosecond laser pulses, with pulse shapes tailored to specific substances, induce fluorescent emission that is unique to those substances. This lock-and-key combination allows extreme sensitivity by eliminating the influence of background fluorescence. Applications include long-range detection of Chemical/biological/nuclear warfare agents, as well as laboratory analytical instruments and microscopy.

Method and Apparatus for Reading and Verifying Holograms

U.S. Patent No. 6,832,003 --Issued 12/14/04

This patent covers the Universal Hologram Scanner (UHS) and the Universal Hologram Reader (UHR). The UHS is a forensic tool for analyzing holograms. The UHR is, as the name suggests, a reader that can be used to verify any kind of hologram or other diffractive marking.

Quantum Dot Security Device and Method

U.S. Patent No. 6,692,031 --Issued 2/17/04

This patent covers a document security and track and trace system in which fluorescent information, quantum dots in inks or resins, is used to provide high information content markings that are read both spectrally and spatially.

Counter-Flow Heat Pump

U.S. Patent No. 6,658,860 --Issued 12/9/03

This patent covers a new architecture for heat pumping. The architecture uses heat pumps distributed along two counterflowing channels carrying fluid, gas, or even a Thompson current, to pump heat efficiently over both large and small temperature differences.

Method and Apparatus for Reading and Verifying Holograms

U.S. Patent No. 6,535,638 --Issued 3/18/03

This patent covers the use of fluorescent marks to validate a transparent hologram.

Miniature, Thin-Film, Solid State Cryogenic Cooler

U.S. Patent No. 6,346,668 --Issued 2/12/02

This patent covers a new architecture for heat pumping, air conditioning, refrigeration and heating. The technology is applicable to cooling solid-state electronics as well as to home and industrial thermal management.

Method and Apparatus for Reading and Verifying Holograms

U.S. Patent No. 6,263,104 --Issued 7/17/01

This is the basic patent for the Universal Hologram Reader and the Universal Hologram Scanner.

Video Image Viewing Device and Method

These patents cover an extremely compact head-mounted virtual reality display using total internal reflection and a liquid crystal layer.

Surface Relief Holograms and Holographic Hot-Stamping Foils, and Method of Fabricating Same

U.S. Patent No. 5,948,199 --Issued 9/7/99

This is the fundamental patent for HRI-coated holograms.

Process for Making Holographic Embossing Tools

U.S. Patent No. 5,521,030 -- Issued 5/28/96

This patent covers a fundamental technique for making solid hologram embossing rollers, coin stamping tools, etc., in hard materials like tool steel, diamond or chromium. These tools can be used for marking metal and plastic parts, or embossing holographic decorative patterns into aluminum foil and aluminum cans.

Moire Dot Holograms for Anticounterfeit Security

U.S. Patent No. 5,396,559 -- Issued 3/7/95

This patent covers a technique for building a covert image into a hologram for optical document security, product authentication, etc. The image is revealed when the hologram is viewed through a special card or screen. Suitable for advertising promotions, lotteries, hang tags, security overlaminates, etc.

Holocomposer

U.S. Patent No. 5,138,471 -- Issued 8/11/92
Australia Patent No. 654,500 -- Issued 2/18/92
(International Patents Pending)

This patent covers the fundamental method for making 3D rainbow holograms dot-by-dot. It is aimed at a desktop holographic printer, useful for architects, artists, and medical imaging. It is also aimed at a fast holographic portraiture system suitable for ID cards, drivers licenses and so on. Further development work on the Holocomposer is currently funded (August 1996) by the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy; the system under development will have a printing speed of 40,000 dots per second (one square inch per second at 100 dots per inch).

"2D-3D" Holograms

U.S. Patent No. 4,918,469 -- Issued 4/17/90
U.S. Patent No. 4,717,221 -- Issued 1/5/88
U.S. Patent No. 4,629,282 -- Issued 12/16/86
Japanese Patent No. 1,687,898 -- Issued 6/11/91
Canadian Patent No. 1,163,477 -- Issued 3/13/84
European Patent No. 0064067EP -- Issued 8/3/88

These patents cover 2D3D hologram apparatus, method and products. 2D3D holograms are made from flat artwork, in one or several layers. 2D3D holograms are by far the most widely used type of hologram throughout the world, both in security applications and in non-security applications.

Method of Fabricating Surface Relief Holograms/ Holographic Hot Stamping Foil

U.S. Patent No. 4,906,315 -- Issued 3/6/90
U.S. Patent No. 4,758,296 -- Issued 7/19/88

These patents cover "UV embossing" method, apparatus and product. They are directed toward a continuous-casting technique for holograms, whereby a thin layer of UV-curable resin is cured in contact with a holographic relief master wrapped around a drum. Alternative embodiments include e-beam curing and partial curing before embossing. The big advantage of this embossing method is that the original surface relief pattern is replicated with nearly perfect fidelity, while standard "heat and pressure" methods lose as much as 30% of the relief depth and lose the high spatial frequency information.

White Light Viewable Cylindrical Hologram

U.S. Patent No. 4,832,424 -- Issued 5/23/89

This patent covers a simple method for making cylindrical rainbow holograms. These products are suitable for Christmas tree decorations, night lights, lamps, flashlight toys, etc., and can be mass produced by embossing or injection molding.

Anticounterfeiting Method and Device

U.S. Patent No. 4,589,686 -- Issued 5/20/86

This patent covers the demetalized holograms often used for ID card overlaminates. It is licensed exclusively to American Banknote Holographics. These holograms are a powerful counterfeit deterrent; no successful counterfeits of this type of hologram have ever been reported.

Full Color Hologram

U.S.Patent No. 4,421,380 -- Issued 12/20/83

This patent covers full color holograms made in the form of a dot array, with a color filter over each dot. In these holograms, the colors do not change when the hologram is tipped.

System for Synthesizing Strip Multiplexed Holograms

U.S. Patent No. 4,411,489 Issued 10/25/83
U.S. Patent No. 4,206,965 Issued 6/10/80
Canadian Patent No. 1,089,262 Issued 11/11/80
Japanese Patent No. 1,345,138 Issued 4/7/86

Method and apparatus for making holographic stereograms. Stereograms are 3D images made from a sequence of movie or video frames, or from computer generated imagery. Can be used to make billboard-sized holograms. These patents also cover the fundamental method of processing images to make image-plane stereograms, in the "one-step" approach.

Solar Power System

U.S. Patent No. 4,204,881 --Issued 5/27/80

This patent covers the basic principle of a holographic spectrum-separating solar concentrator, which allows much higher photovoltaic conversion efficiency when selected types of solar cell materials are used at different parts of the focused spectrum.