US Patent 7745498 - Oxidized nanowires

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7745498.html

In order to form transistor structures using nanostructured materials a reliable method is required to generate the dielectric oxides with respect to the nanochannel. This patent from Nanosys includes some basic claims to oxidized silicon nanowires. Claim 1 reads:

1. A nanowire dispersion composition comprising

a plurality of nanowires comprising silicon suspended in an aqueous or non-aqueous solution comprising at least one low molecular weight dispersant,

wherein the nanowires include a thermally grown oxide layer on an outermost surface of the nanowires, wherein the thermally grown oxide layer is formed in addition to any oxide layer resulting from synthesis of the nanowires.