US Patent 7569905 - 3-contact vertical nanorod sensor

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7569905.html

This patent from the Palo Alto Research Center teaches an electronic environmental sensor fabricated from zinc oxide nanorods. Claim 1 reads:

1. A vertically fabricated three-electrode device comprising:

a detector having a substrate having a major surface; and

a nanorod formed on the substrate, the nanorod being substantially perpendicular to the major surface of the substrate, wherein the nanorod comprises:

a middle portion;

a first end portion, the first end portion being metallized; and

a second end portion, the second end portion being metallized,

a part of the middle portion of the nanorod being metallized and electrically connected to a third electrode.