US Patent 7432522 - Nanowhisker pn junction

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7432522.html

This patent from QuNano teaches the formation of a new type of pn junction formed from a nanowhisker (aka nanowire). Claim 1 reads:

1. A structure, comprising:

a crystalline semiconductor nanowhisker of a first conductivity type; and

an enclosure comprising a bulk semiconductor region of a second conductivity type opposite to the first conductivity type enclosing and in contact with said nanowhisker along at least part of its length;

wherein a combination of the nanowhisker and the bulk semiconductor region forms a pn junction.