US Patent 8094247 - Nanowire-based touch screen

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/8094247.html

Metal and metal oxide nanowires are being developed as a transparent conductive electrode material for flexible displays. This patent from Cambrios Technologies suggests metal nanowires to form the conductive layers in touch panel displays. Claim 4 reads:

4. A multi-layer structure comprising:

a substrate;

a conductive layer formed on the substrate, wherein the conductive layer comprises a first plurality of metallic nanowires, the first plurality of metallic nanowires reaching an electrical percolation level; and

an overcoat formed on the conductive layer, the overcoat incorporating a second plurality of conductive particles, the second plurality of conductive particles being below the electrical percolation level, and wherein the overcoat is surface conductive.

US Patent 8018563 - Transparent conductors formed from metallic nanowires

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/8018563.html

Transparent electrical conductors are an important component of plasma and LCD displays but conventional materials used for this purpose such as indium tin oxide are costly to produce and are fragile. This patent from Cambrios teaches how silver nanowires or gold nanotubes can be used to produce transparent conductors with improved properties. Claim 1 reads:

1. A composite transparent conductor comprising:

a primary conductive medium including a plurality of nanostructures, the nanostructures being metal nanowires or metal nanotubes; and

a secondary conductive medium coupled to the primary conductive medium, the secondary conductive medium including a metal oxide film,

wherein the plurality of nanostructures are below an electrical percolation threshold.

US Patent 7849424 - Computer aided design of nanowire transparent film

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7849424.html

This patent from Cambrios Technologies Corporation teaches CAD techniques used to optimize the electrical conductivity and transparency of nanowire thin films. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method for controlling a process of fabricating a transparent conductor film having nanowires, the method comprising:

receiving, by a processor, an input specification of a physical characteristic of the transparent conductor film;

comparing, by the processor, the input specification to stored reference data correlating a physical characteristic of reference transparent conductor films to a physical characteristic of reference nanowires;

generating a manufacturing specification that correlates a target physical characteristic of the nanowires to the input specification; and

controlling a physical characteristic of the nanowires of the transparent conductor film based on the manufacturing specification.