US Patent 7833616 - Self-aligning nanowire ink

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7833616.html

For the past decade HP has been using techniques such as nanoimprint lithography to pattern aligned nanowire structures for crossbar electronics. This patent focuses on an alternative method which may be more cost effective based on chemically modified nanowires formed in an ink and capable of self-alignment. Claim 17 reads:

17. An ink formulation for an inkjet printer deposition system, the ink formulation comprising:

a plurality of self-aligning nanowires, a self-aligning nanowire comprising

a nanowire portion and an aligning member attached to the nanowire portion, the aligning member interacting with the aligning member of another self-aligning nanowire of the plurality to align the nanowires; and

 a carrier solution, the plurality of self-aligning nanowires being suspended in the carrier solution, wherein the carrier solution facilitates alignment of the self-aligning nanowires with each other.