US Patent 7423285 - 3D matrix reconfigurable logic

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7423285.html

A variety of companies including Hewlett-Packard and Nantero have been working on crossbar circuit architectures to achieve more efficient nanoelectronics in coming decades. This patent from Sharp teaches providing wires to interconnect planes of such crossbar switching architectures and extend their integration into three dimensions to form more compact reconfigurable logic architectures. Claim 1 reads:

1. A semiconductor integrated circuit comprising:

a plurality of semiconductor devices each comprising a matrix comprising a first wire which extends in a first direction and a second wire which extends in a second direction that is different from said first direction;

a wire that three-dimensionally connects the plurality of the semiconductor devices, and

wherein the first and second wires are each supported in a spaced apart manner so that in at least one of the semiconductor devices the first and second wires cross each other in mid-air in a gas-filled and/or vacuum area.