US Patent 8114716 - Deletable nanotube circuit

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/8114716.html

This is one of a series of patents from the company Intellectual Ventures claiming methods of configuring electronic circuits from carbon nanotubes by inactivating unwanted segments of carbon nanotube arrays. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method of constructing a circuit, comprising:

providing an array of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) comprising a plurality of segments, at least a subset of the segments intersecting to form electrically responsive junctions; and

selectively inactivating at least one segment or junction by at least one of (a) applying electromagnetic energy by at least one of (i) directing laser energy toward the at least one segment or junction or (ii) directing an electron beam toward the at least one segment or junction, or (b) chemically attacking the at least one segment or junction.