US Patent 7276389 - Metal oxide coated CNT array

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7276389.html

There is some interest in using arrays of carbon nanotubes, which are one of the best developed nanostructures, as templates to form nanotubes of other materials. This patent from Samsung presents some very basic claims to the use of carbon nanostructure templates to form metal oxide nanostructures. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method of making an array of metal oxide nanostructures comprising the steps of: providing a substrate supporting an array of projecting carbon nanostructures; and forming a metal oxide coating overlying the surfaces of the carbon nanostructures.

However, the examiner may have overlooked prior art such as US 6,740,910 (http://www.freepatentsonline.com/6740910.html) which discloses metal oxide coated nanotube arrays used to form FETs (see column 6, lines 25-31).