US Patent 7368712 - Functionalized Y-junction carbon nanotube AFM tip

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7368712.html

Due to their high-aspect ratio carbon nanotube have been grown on the tips of atomic resolution probes to inspect trench structures more easily. This patent from IBM teaches using a functionalized Y-shaped carbon nanotube as the tip offering additional benefits for chemical detection on the molecular scale. Claim 1 reads:

1. A Y-shaped carbon nanotube atomic force microscope probe tip comprising: a shaft portion; a pair of angled arms extending from a same end of said shaft portion, wherein said shaft portion and said pair of angled arms comprise a chemically modified carbon nanotube, and wherein said chemically modified carbon nanotube is modified with any of an amine, carboxyl, fluorine, and metallic component.