US Patent 7259903 - Optical switching using carbon nanotube array

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7259903.html

Joseph Crowley from Ambit Corp. was early to recognize the benefits of carbon nanotubes in optical and antenna applications and has several basic patents in these areas. This is one of a series of patents to Ambit Corp. with priority to 1997 and appears to be fairly basic to the use of carbon nanotubes in optical switching. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method of using a carbon nanotube assembly, comprising: growing a signal responsive array of nanotubes on a substrate; receiving an electromagnetic signal by said array of nanotubes grown on said substrate; biasing at least one of said nanotubes in said array of nanotubes, with a further signal; and switching said electromagnetic signal received by said carbon nanotubes relative to said array of nanotubes on said substrate.