US Patent 7776383 - Combinatorial discovery of nanomaterials

http://ip.com/patent/US7776383

This patent from PPG Industries Ohio includes remarkably broad claims (with priority as early as 1996) for a testing method of ceramic nanomaterial composites based on the suitability of the materials properties in electronics or sensing applications. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method of discovering ceramic nanomaterial for an application comprising:

forming an electroded film array comprising a plurality of array elements wherein each array element of the electroded film array comprises a first layer of electrode and a ceramic nanomaterial film deposited on the first layer of electrode;

determining a property of each array element of the electroded film array; and

determining whether one or more of the plurality of array elements exhibit a property that is suitable for the application.