US Patent 7394118 - High aspect ratio nanowire backgate chemfet

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7394118.html

This patent from the University of Southern California teaches improved response time chemical sensors formed from high aspect ratio metal oxide nanowires. Claim 11 reads:

11. A method, comprising:

exposing a nanowire of a semiconductor metal oxide material made from a laser ablation assisted chemical vapor deposition process to have a uniform diameter throughout a length of said nanowire with an aspect ratio of at least 100:1 to an unknown material; and

electrically characterizing the nanowire after said exposing to determine characteristics of the nanowire connected between two drains of a back gate field effect transistor to detect the unknown material.