US Patent 7307271 - Columnar nanowire interconnect

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7307271.html

The increase in density of electronics devices have increased the demand for multilayer system electronics. This patent from Hewlett-Packard teaches using vertical nanowire connectors to provide electrical interconnects between such multilayer systems. Claim 14 is representative.

14. An interconnected nano-colonnade structure comprising: a first nano-colonnade device; a second nano-colonnade device; and a first nanowire column that extends nearly vertically from a (111) horizontal surface of the first device to a (111) horizontal surface of the second device that faces the (111) horizontal surface to connect the first device to the second device.