US Patent 7327000 - Patterned thin film graphite

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7327000.html

This patent (priority 6/12/2003) includes some broad claims to a patterned thin film graphite layer on silicon which can be used in field emission display and other applications. Claim 1 reads:

1. A functional structure, comprising: a. a crystalline substrate having a preselected crystal face; and b. a thin-film graphitic layer disposed on the preselected crystal face, the thin-film graphitic layer patterned so as to define at least one functional structure.

However, some pertinent prior art may have been overlooked such as US 6,617,798 (see column 3, lines 61-67 and column 4, lines 13-20) or US 6,653,366 (see column 5, line 66 - column 6, line 15).