University of Pittsburgh Announces Patents Issued in December 2021

Pitt innovators were issued six U.S. patents in December 2021.

Featured patent: 11,205,535 “Oxide Interface Displaying Electronically Controllable Ferromagnetism”

Magnetism forms the basis for non-volatile storage in hard disk drives. A new field called “spintronics” aims to use electronics and electron spin to process information; however, it has been difficult to find appropriate materials capable of controlling magnetic properties using electronics. Pitt innovators led by Jeremy Levy, Distinguished Professor of Condensed Matter Physics and founding director of the Pittsburgh Quantum Institute, have identified a new phase of an oxide heterostructure composed of two insulating oxides that exhibits a novel ferromagnetic phase which is completely electrically controllable and stable at room temperature, a concept hailed as the “holy grail” of the field and which would open up an incredible wealth of new opportunities for technological exploitation. This new electronically controlled ferromagnetic phase promises lower power consumption, less heat dissipation, non-volatility, and the possibility of deeper integration of logic and memory for classical and quantum computing applications. Levy is currently leading a multi-institution research team on a $7.5 million grant from the Office of Naval Research to develop new types of quantum computers based on electron spin.

For more information on this technology, including licensing, contact George Coulston at gcoulston@innovation.pitt.edu.

Below is a listing of all patents issued to Pitt innovators in December 2021.