Thoughtventions
Unlimited LLC

About Thoughtventions Unlimited, LLC

Thoughtventions was formed early in 1993 to perform multidisciplinary research and development for the advancement of science and to create novel commercial processes and products. Thoughtventions creates fundamental innovations that solve long-standing problems by applying state-of-the-art advances from apparently unrelated scientific and industrial specialties. These concepts are developed in detail to make them practical, to maximize their potential, and to explore their implications for future work.

Thoughtventions Unlimited is a multifaceted business that centers on applying diverse applied physical sciences and technology to perform research and development and create commercial products. Thoughtventions current business lines include US Government research and development projects as well as commercial laboratory and research equipment products. Thoughtventions's business is both national and international, using the sophisticated skills of its personnel to solve its customers' technical problems and to pursue its own research and development projects. Thoughtventions adapts to the goals of its funding sources, which tend to be short-term reward, but it is committed to the development of a variety of long term technologies which have the potential to be major advances in their field.

Commercial Development Efforts. Based on its past research and development Thoughtventions has created a number of laboratory equipment products, centering in the areas of furnaces, materials, vacuum devices, optics, and sapphire.

Dr. Stephen Cuyler Bates, President of Thoughtventions, has B.S., M.S., and Sc.D. degrees in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from MIT, accumulating twice the number of credits required for a BS equally divided between engineering, physics, and mathematics. He has been a Staff Scientist at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) (5 yrs) working on a major national project in magnetic confinement nuclear fusion, a Senior Scientist at the General Motors Research Laboratories (6 yrs) working on a transparent internal combustion engine, and a Senior Scientist (3 yrs) performing research in a wide variety of areas at another small business, and Founder and President of Thoughtventions Unlimited LLC since 1993. He has 29 Journal publications, 76 other publications, 3 patents (2 sole author), and has been included in a variety of national and international Who's Who publications.

Thoughtventions's funding originates from both commercial sales, contract research, and consulting. To date Thoughtventions has received $4.1M in funding. Some of Thoughtventions's programs include particle heat exchangers, low power furnaces, and a sapphire fiber imaging system. Unique products such as a 1200°C transparent furnace, a 1800°C, 1000 psi, air furnace, a 1600°C 2000 psi inert gas furnace, high temperature, high pressure sapphire viewports, and others.

About TvU President Dr. S. C. Bates

Dr. Stephen Cuyler Bates, President of Thoughtventions, is a Senior Scientist pursuing a career in multidisciplinary applied physical sciences. Dr. Bates founded Thoughtventions early in 1993 as a research and development company keying on the commercial development of multidisciplinary research advances. He has direct work experience in many different fields, and has worked in 4 different major fields in his technical career. At Thoughtventions he has managed research contracts totaling over $4,700,000, primary through the US Government Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) program January 2012. Dr. Bates is sole author of 9 and coauthor of 27 refereed journal papers (30 total), as well as 76 other publications in many different fields. He is the primary author of articles in such diverse journals as Review of Scientific Instruments, Experiments in Fluids, Journal of Fire Science, Cryogenics, Combustion and Flame, Journal of Crystal Growth, Progress in Aeronautics and Astronautics, and SAE Transactions. He has been included in a variety of Who's Who publications since 1992, and he is currently a member of the Materials Research Society (MRS), American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA-Associate Fellow), Combustion Inst., Soc. of Photo-optical Instr. Eng. (SPIE), and the Cryogenics Society of America.

Dr. Bates has a broad scientific educational background based on 11 years of undergraduate (BS 1970, MS 1971) and graduate course work and research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He accumulated twice the course credits needed for a BS equally divided between engineering, physics, and mathematics. His Master's thesis centered on controlling the chamber pressure of a transparent hybrid rocket (still in use) using a vortex valve exhaust nozzle. His doctoral program (ScD 1977) was a fundamental flow visualization study of the structure of turbulent mixing in a plane shear layer using planar excited phosphorescence when this technique was new.

Diverging from his fluid mechanics and combustion work at MIT, Dr. Bates used his educational background and references to become a full staff member of a physics team working on a major national project in the area of magnetic confinement nuclear fusion at the Oak Ridge National Laboratories. Over a 5 year tenure (1978-82) his major role in the ISX Group in the Fusion Energy Division was the operation of high power (2 MW) neutral beams and their associated systems and diagnostics. He also contributed to a wide variety of plasma diagnostic projects and overall Tokamak machine operation.

Dr. Bates next moved to internal combustion engine work at the General Motors Research Laboratories. Over 6 years (1984-90) his project was the design, construction, and successful operation of a unique (in the world at the time and currently much copied) single cylinder engine with full compression and combustion in a single-crystal sapphire cylinder. Together with a quartz piston top this engine gives complete optical access to the flow and combustion processes in the cylinder. Instantaneous image-intensified videography of engine flames together with image processing and analysis led to extensive research and publications concerning the fundamental processes of flow and flame propagation inside of the cylinder. As a tool for studying in-cylinder flows he developed a velocity diagnostic based on seeding micron-sized phosphorescing particles into the flow. He continues automotive consulting.

Continuing his diversification at a small R&D business, Dr. Bates was involved in a wide variety of contract research that included cryogenics, materials, combustion and fluid mechanics, chemistry, and optical diagnostics. Projects on which he was PI involved Sapphire, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, Coal pyrolysis, Particulate clean-up of coal combustion gas, Materials fire characteristics, Solid oxygen, Soot measurement, and Acoustic fine particle agglomeration.

Since founding Thoughtventions, Dr. Bates has pursued a variety of Research and Development Programs. He has successfully initiated SBIR programs funded by the Air Force, DOE, DOT/FAA, NASA, NSF, as well as a wide variety of commercial programs. These programs include work in the areas of Furnace Development, Crystal Growth, Sapphire Fiber Optics, Sapphire Microwave Windows, Solid Cryogenic Propulsion Systems, Materials, and Airport Lighting. These programs have been almost all successful, building a foundation for ongoing research and commercial products.

Facilities at Thoughtventions

Thoughtventions currently occupies 3,000 square feet of office and laboratory space with a wide variety of sophisticated experimental research and development support equipment. Thoughtventions has invested many years of its owner's time and company resources to fund development projects and to acquire a variety of sophisticated furnace, mechanical, optical, electronic, and vacuum equipment, as well as fabrication, testing and support equipment. An optics lab centers on a single sapphire fiber imaging calibration station. A vacuum processing lab centers on a multiple high vacuum chambers. Cryogenics equipment centers on a Janis Supertran Liquid Helium Cryostat with optical access. Air and vacuum furnaces (to above 2200°C) are used for furnace development and material processing experiments. Transparent furnaces and transparent furnace tube production facilities permit total optical access to small pieces undergoing heat treatment at temperatures up 1200°C.

Major Thoughtventions facilities include:

Furnace Systems:

• Vaccuum/Inert Furnaces:Furnace Equipment Facility
  • 2000°C tungsten element furnace, 5x25 cm hot zone
  • 2200°C graphite furnace, 6x20 cm hot zone
  • Multiple vacuum furnace shells suitable for a variety of heating cores
• Air Furnaces: 1600°C 8x30 cm hot zone SiC element heat treatment furnace, 1300°C tube air furnace, 1300°C 50 cm cube kiln, 700°C low power furnace (75 watts), a 250°C 45x35x55 cm oven, plus variety of 1200°C and below kanthal element furnaces. Oven, all types of standard and high temperature (PtRh) thermocouple monitors.
• Transparent Furnace Apparatus: Two temperature-controlled transparent furnaces (a single zone and a 2-zone type) and associated hardware designed to permit total optical access to small pieces undergoing heat treatment at temperatures up to 1200°C. These furnaces contain heat radiation to achieve high operating temperatures by using an infrared reflecting outer shell.

• Coating Equipment:

  • Apparatus for vacuum evaporation internal gold coating of tubes. Tube ID Gold Coater

• Optics Laboratory:

  • Apertures: Wide variety of pinholes, square apertures down to 10microns.
  • Fiber Optics: Wide variety of fibers: sapphire, quartz, glass, plastic; fiber polishing equipment, fiber test optical mounts, fixturing devices, focussing optics.
  • Filters: Wide assortment of ND, line, and broadband filters, polarizers.
  • Galvanometers: 2-axis precision controlled mirrors.
  • Imaging Equipment: Ophir SP928 high resolution laser monitoring camera with analysis and operation software, Orion Starshoot G3, image processing software.
  • Lasers: Polarized and unpolarized 1.5mW precision lasers, 15W CO₂ laser, low power HeNe lasers.
  • Lenses: Wide variety of focal length convex, plano, concave.
  • Light Sources: Arc lamps, compact arc flash lamps, high power halogen lamps, mercury UV lamp, tungsten filament lamps, fiber optic illuminators.
  • Microscopes: stereo and standard microscopes 7 - 400X, Near Infrared (NIR) video camera for thermal imaging.
  • Mirrors: Low f-number elliptical and planar electrodeposited mirrors, variety of wavelength-variable filters, gold-coated mirrors.
  • Optical Mounting Equipment: Optical bench with vibration isolation legs, precision linear and rotary positioners, fiber mounts, wide variety of optics mounts.
  • Reticles: Various Line, Circle, AF Test Pattern.
  • Windows: Wide variety of sapphire, quartz, pyrex, ZnSe, and gold-coated windows.
  • Misc.: Spatial filter, fiber bundles and illuminators, optical cements. Precision radiant power meter, illumination meter, high speed intensity detector.

• Cryogenic Systems:

  • Janis Supertran-VP continuous flow cryostat with a dual temperature controller that allows optical inspection of samples held at a temperature adjustable from 1.4 to 325 K. 100 and 500 liter LHe, 500 liter LN2 dewars, standard cryogenic equipment consisting of dewars, vacuum insulated transfer lines, thermometry, and level detection.

• Vacuum Equipment:

  • Multiported, Instrumented Diffusion Pump Vacuum Stations: Two multiported vacuum coating chambers with large diffusion pumps and high current feedthrus, rated 10^-7 torr, one 60 cm ID x 40 high, and one 20 cm ID x 110 cm long High Vacuum Chamber. with automated controls, 50 cm bell-jar vacuum station
  • High Vacuum Turbopump Station (10^-9 torr) with Residual Gas AnalyserTurbopump Vacuum Chamber
  • Conflat Sealed High Vacuum Chamber:High Vacuum Chamber
  • Diffusion Pumps: Multiple 8", 6", 4", and 2"
  • Gate Valves: Multiple 7", 5", 3" and metric
  • Leak Test Facility:Leak Test Equipment
  • Vacuum Valves: manual and pneumatic
  • Mechanical Vacuum Pumps: 10-1000 CFM
  • Degassing Chambers: 4" to 15"
  • Vacuum Diagnostics: Residual Gas Analyzer (RGA), ionization gauges and meters, convectron gauges, capacitance manometers
  • Misc.: LN₂ baffles and traps, large inventory of of conflat, KF & ISO vacuum parts and sealing hardware.

Other significant Thoughtventions facilities:

• Combustion Equipment: Variety of laminar and turbulent burners of different geometries, torches, compressed flammable gases.
• Data Acquisition Systems: A variety of slow and fast multichannel data acquisition systems.
• Electronic Equipment: Tektronix TDS 380 400MHz digital storage oscilloscope, Tektronix 2213A oscilloscope, HP 4274A Multifrequency LCR Meter, pulse generator, frequency generator, high precision adjustable power supplies, high precision multimeters, low current meters, photoelectric sensors & amplifiers, and a wide variety of electronic supplies.
• Electrical Equipment: Wide variety of electrical and electronic supplies, timers and waveform generators, oscilloscope and multimeter equipment, high power variacs.
• Fluid Sensors, Controls, and Supplies: Standard and miniature electronic pressure sensors, high and low pressure multiple gas supplies, gauges and fittings, compressed air and bottled gases. Liquid, gas flowmeters, filters; hydraulic pumps and fittings.
• High Pressure Testing Equipment
• High Temperature Insulation: Zirconia board, mat, and balls, rated to 2400°C, alumina board rated to 1750°C, fiber rated to 1800°C, alumina/silica mat rated to 1450°C and 1260°C, wide variety of lower temperature ceramic insulators, pure boron nitride rated to 3000°C in nitrogen. Tungsten and molybdenum sheet for radiation insulation.
• Hydraulic Equipment: Hand and motor driven hydraulic pumps to 1 kbar, Hi, Med, and Lo pressure gauges, tubing and fittings, double acting 3000 psi gas pressurization cylinder, 10 kpsi hydraulic presses.
• Materials and Chemicals: Rare metals, precious metals, polishing materials, sapphire, quartz, ceramic insulation and glues, specialized chemicals, solvents, flameproof storage, hazardous chemical handling and storage equipment.
• Materials Processing Equipment: 20 ton press, Strasbaugh polishing machine with polishing apparatus, manual polishing equipment. Precision diamond cutoff saw, diamond band saw, variety of diamond tooling.
• Mechanical Apparatus: Thoughtventions has a complete machine shop, including large and small lathes and milling machines. It has ceramic machining capabilities including diamond tools, large and small diamond circular saws, a diamond band saw, and a wide variety of micrometers, large and small slip rolls, an 8" shear, and an 16" variable speed scroll saw.
• Power Supplies: Low power to 10kW AC and DC power supplies, low power to 7kW Variacs, precision temperature feedback controlled power supplies single phase and three phase, 1000A 10:1 transformer and high power variacs, Hughes HRW 250B 250 Joule Tack welding power supply.
• Safety Equipment: Flammables storage cabinet and glove box, fume hood, clean-up equipment, laboratory exhaust system.
• Sample Preparation Equipment: Wide variety of polishing materials, laps, fixtures, cutting devices and tools for both metals and ceramics.
• Misc: controlled atmosphere glovebox, hood and vent systems, ultrasonic cleaners, precision balances. Pure gases: Ar, He, N2, H2/N2 forming gas. Multiple mobile 2-ton lifting cranes.