US Patent 7274078 - Vertically oriented nanotube fabric switch

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7274078.html

The use of carbon nanotubes as mechanical switches has been significantly developed by Nantero but most of the configurations call for patterned ribbons formed horizontally to a substrate. This patent teaches an alternative of vertically grown nanotube switches which may be more easily fabricated. Claim 1 reads:

1. An electro-mechanical device, comprising: a structure having a major horizontal surface and a channel formed therein, the channel having first and second wall electrodes defining at least a portion of first and second vertical walls of the channel; first and second nanotube articles vertically suspended in the channel and in spaced relation to a corresponding first and second wall electrode, and electromechanically deflectable in a horizontal direction toward or away from the corresponding first and second wall electrode in response to electrical stimulation.