US Patent 7289357 - Output isolation for nanotube switch

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7289357.html

This patent from Nantero deals with electrical isolation between the an output terminal and carbon nanotube mechanical switches which is important for the construction of a variety of logic circuits. Claim 1 reads:

1. An isolation structure for a deflectable nanotube element, comprising: a pair of electrodes disposed on opposite sides of a deflectable nanotube element, at least a portion of the deflectable nanotube element being anchored to a support structure, at least one of said pair of electrodes being an output terminal for a signal carried on the deflectable nanotube element, said pair producing substantially the same but opposing electrostatic forces on the deflectable nanotube element, so that the position of the deflectable nanotube element near the pair of electrodes is substantially unaffected by the electrical state of the output terminal; and a control electrode disposed between the support structure and one of the pair of electrodes so as to control the position of the deflectable nanotube element.