US Patent 7408186 - Multi-segment linear nanostructures

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7408186.html

This patent from Oak Ridge Labs. has priority going back to Feb. 6, 2002 and includes some basic claims to elongated nanostructures (e.g. nanowires, nanotubes) formed on a substrate having multiple interconnected segments. Claim 1 reads:

1. A composition, comprising:

an elongated nanostructure including a first elongated segment defining a first axis and a second elongated segment coupled to the first segment, the second elongated segment defining a second axis that is substantially nonparallel to the first axis;

a substrate coupled to the elongated nanostructure;

another elongated nanostructure coupled to the substrate; and

wherein the elongated segments are substantially linear.


However, some prior art seems to have been overlooked during the examination such as:

1) Li et al. "Growing Y-junction Carbon Nanotubes" published in 1999, or

2) Li et al. "Straight Carbon Nanotube Y Junctions" published in 2001.