US Patent 7273732 - Nanowire harvesting using doped sacrificial portions

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7273732.html

This patent from Nanosys teaches a method to mass produce nanowires having more consistent characteristics based on the use of doping to create sacrificial portions of the nanowires that can be removed. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method of harvesting a nanowire, comprising the steps of: (a) growing a desired portion of the nanowire; (b) growing a sacrificial portion of the nanowire which is doped differently than the desired portion of the nanowire; (c) differentially removing the sacrificial portion of the nanowire; and (d) removing a growth stub from the desired portion of the nanowire.