US Patent 7847285 - Configurable power segmentation using nanotubes

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7847285.html

This patent from LSI Corporation teaches smart power management of microprocessors using carbon nanotube switches. Claim 1 reads:

1. A microelectronic assembly, comprising:

a transistor layer of an integrated circuit above a semiconductor substrate, the transistor layer including a plurality of transistors;

a power source to supply power to the plurality of transistors; and

a nanotube structure patterned adjacent to the transistor layer, the nanotube structure to be bent to a conductive surface when a current is applied to the nanotube structure, the bent nanotube structure to couple the power source to the plurality of transistors to provide a power to the plurality of transistors, and be bent away from the conductive surface when the current is removed from the nanotube structure, the bent away nanotube structure to decouple the power source from the plurality of transistors to remove the power from the plurality of transistors, the nanotube structure to be bent away from the conductive surface based on a power utilization rate of the plurality of transistors meeting a threshold level.