US Patent 8198622 - Nanoparticle doped nanowires

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/8198622.html

This patent from Panasonic teaches a way to engineer the light emission or detection properties of semiconductor nanowires by integrating nanoparticle material into the nanowire structure. Claim 1 reads:

1. A nanowire comprising:

a nanowire body made of a first semiconductor material which contains a plurality of elements; and

a plurality of nanoparticles made of a second semiconductor material which contains at least one of the plurality of elements and is different from the first semiconductor material, the plurality of nanoparticles being located at least one of an interior and a surface of the nanowire body.

US Patent 8143144 - Nanowire hetero-growth

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/8143144.html

This patent from Panasonic teaches a way to manufacture silicon nanowires having regions of different dopant concentration for thin film transistor used in flat-panel displays. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method for fabricating a semiconductor nanowire that has first and second regions, the method comprising:

putting a catalyst particle on a substrate;

growing the first region from the catalyst particle with a vapor-liquid-solid phase (VLS) grower;

forming a protective coating on a sidewall of the first region; and

growing the second region extending from the first region with the VLS grower.

US Patent 7858968 - Organic CNTFET

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7858968.html

This patent from Panasonic teaches a thin film organic transistor using nanotubes in the channel for applications such as flexible LCDs. Claim 1 reads:

1. A field effect transistor comprising:

a semiconductor layer through which carriers injected from a source region travel toward a drain region,

the semiconductor layer being formed from a composite material comprising an organic semiconductor material and nanotubes,

wherein plural ones of the nanotubes are chemically joined with each other in the semiconductor layer.

US Patent 7738280 - Nanoparticle thin film mem-resistor

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7738280.html

This patent from Panasonic teaches a new variation of memory resistor based on nanoparticles on an oxide thin film layer. Claim 1 reads:

1. A resistive nonvolatile memory element comprising:

a first electrode;

an oxide semiconductor layer which is formed on the first electrode and the resistance of which is altered depending on the applied voltage;

metal nanoparticles having a diameter of between 2 nm and 10 nm and being arranged on the oxide semiconductor layer;

a tunnel barrier layer formed on the oxide semiconductor layer and the metal nanoparticles; and

a second electrode formed on the tunnel barrier layer, said metal nanoparticles being in contact with the oxide semiconductor layer.

US Patent 7718995 - Particle coated nanowire

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7718995.html

In order to enhance the surface area and sensitivity of nanowire-based sensors this patent from Panasonic teaches techniques to form semiconductor nanoparticles on the surface of a semiconductor nanowire. Claim 1 reads:

1. A nanowire comprising:

a nanowire body made of a crystalline semiconductor as a first material; and

a plurality of fine particles, which are made of a second material, including a constituent element of the semiconductor, and which are located on at least portions of the surface of the nanowire body, wherein the surface of the nanowire body is smooth.