Patent ID: 7659538

Claim:
A shift register device for creating a real-time, tunable, doping effect within a material, the device comprising a thin, flexible film having at least one stripe-shaped pattern formed therein, wherein the at least one stripe-shaped pattern does not have substantial variation in either of material composition and chemical doping concentration therein along a length of each stripe-shape of the at least one stripe-shaped pattern; a plurality of quantum dots, positioned in the at least one stripe-shaped pattern within the film; a plurality of charge carriers capable of being confined within the plurality of quantum dots to form a respective plurality of artificial atoms; a plurality of electrodes supported by the film, wherein each of the plurality of electrodes is spaced apart from an adjacent one or more of the plurality of electrodes and is electrically insulated from each adjacent one of the plurality of electrodes, and each of the plurality of electrodes is positioned in a horizontal plane above and from a top plan view between a respective pair of the plurality of quantum dots; and a plurality of control paths formed at least partially in the film, wherein each of the plurality of control paths is operatively coupled with a respective subset of the plurality of electrodes; and each of the plurality of control paths is adapted to carry energy to its respective subset of the plurality of electrodes; wherein when a first pair of electrodes of the plurality of electrodes is energized via a first set of one or more of the plurality of control paths, a first subset of the plurality of charge carriers is trapped and held in a first quantum dot of the plurality of quantum dots in a controlled configuration, thus forming a first artificial atom of particular size, shape, atomic number, and/or energy level; and when one electrode of the first pair of electrodes is de-energized and a second pair of electrodes of the plurality of electrodes is energized via a second set of one or more of the plurality of control paths, the first subset of plurality of charge carriers is shifted into a second quantum dot where it is trapped and held in a controlled configuration by the second pair of electrodes to form a second artificial atom of particular size, shape, atomic number, and energy level identical to the first artificial atom; and wherein the first and second artificial atoms and additional artificial atoms are formed and shifted along the at least one stripe-shaped pattern in the film in this manner to create a pattern of artificial atoms that has a doping effect on the film; and upon further shifting of the first, second, and additional artificial atoms, an alternate pattern of artificial atoms is created that has an alternate doping effect on the film.