Thursday, November 09, 2006

US Patent 7132679 - Nanotube Heterojunction Using Armchair and Zigzag Tubes

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7132679.pdf

All modern electronics requires the formation of a junction or connection between metallic material (such as aluminum) and semiconductive material (such as silicon) in order to connect electrical wiring to transistors. The nanotube equivalent of metals is found in the form of armchair nanotube while the nanotube equivalent of semiconductors is zigzag nanotubes (not always though, about 1/3 of the zigzag type have metallic characteristics). This patent from Kia Silverbrook (with priority going back to 1998) presents a broad claim to a metallic/semiconductor nanotube junction. Claim 1 reads:

1. An electrical device having controlled properties comprising: a central nanotube of a zigzag type interconnected between two nanotubes of an armchair type.