US Patent 7906380 - Manufacture of nanowire electronics

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7906380.html

This patent from Canon includes a broad claim to trimming the electrical characteristics of nanowire thin film transistors during manufacture. The claim reads:

1. A method of manufacturing an electric device assembly in which a plurality of electric devices each having a plurality of nanowires are arranged, the method comprising:

fabricating the plurality of electric devices by using the plurality of nanowires;

measuring a characteristic value of each fabricated electric device; and

conducting trimming on an electric device, among the plurality of electric devices, whose characteristic value is measured to be outside of a desired range by subjecting at least one of the plurality of nanowires, corresponding to that electric device, to a treatment selected from a group that includes heat treatment, oxidation, hydrogenation, plasma treatment, and ion implantation, thereby changing electric characteristics of the at least one of the plurality of nanowires, wherein the characteristic value of the electric device subjected to the trimming is set within the desired range by the trimming to reduce characteristic fluctuations among the plurality of electric devices.