US Patent 7560134 - Bead blasting nanoparticle implantation

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7560134.html

The patent from Applied Nanotech teaches a method of depositing nanoparticles into a surface using beads of glass or ice as carrier particles. This can provide a simpler alternative to other deposition methods using nanoparticles embedded in printing pastes which require additional post-processing steps and produce smaller surface densities of the nanoparticles.
Claim 1 reads:

1. A method for altering properties of a surface, comprising the steps of:

providing a target surface for alteration; and

performing an implantation of nanoparticles into the target surface, wherein:

said implantation is performed with a bead-blasting process using carrier beads, such that the carrier beads strike the target surface; and

mixing said nanoparticles with said carrier beads before performing said implantation, such that said nanoparticles become physically attached to said carrier beads.