US Patent 7888753 - Nanowire FET sensor

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7888753.html

This patent from IBM (priority 7/31/2006) includes some broad claims to nanowire transistors used as molecular detection devices. Claim 1 reads:

1. A detection device comprising:

a source;

a drain;

a nanowire comprising a semiconductor material having a first end clamped to the source and a second end clamped to the drain and suspended freely therebetween; and

a gate separated from the nanowire by a distance of up to about ten nanometers.