US Patent 7272010 - Heat dissipation using carbon nanotube circuit board

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7272010.html

This patent from Advanced Micro Devices presents some basic claims to carbon nanotubes used for thermal dissipation. Apparently the point of novelty is that the nanotubes are dispersed in a binding matrix rather than bundled together. Claim 1 reads:

1. A circuit board, comprising: a substrate including a source material interspersed and in physical contact with a first plurality of unbundled carbon nanotubes; and at least one conductor coupled to the substrate.

US Patent 7213637 - Heat pipe with inner carbon nanotube coating

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7213637.html

This patent from Hon Hai Precision proposes using carbon nanotubes in the interior of heat pipes which use capillary force to effect efficient thermal transfer. While carbon fibers were used in the prior art the size of the fibers disrupted the capillary flow. Claim 1 reads:

1. A heat pipe comprising: a vacuumated pipe; a wick having a capillary structure engaged with an inside wall of the pipe; and an operating fluid sealed in the pipe and soaking the wick; wherein the wick comprises a carbon nanotube layer, and the operating fluid comprises a liquid and a plurality of nanometer-scale particles suspended in the liquid.

US Patent 7197804 - Aligning carbon nanotube in copper conductor

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7197804.html

This patent from The Aerospace Corporation takes advantage of the thermal conductivity of carbon nanotubes to form heat sinks by rolling the nanotubes into alignment on a copper sheet. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method of manufacturing thermal conductor sheet, the method comprising the steps of, mixing copper and carbon fibers together in a mixture at a predetermined ratio, and rolling the mixture to flatten the thermal conductor into a sheet with the carbon nanotubes being aligned within the plane of the sheet of the thermal conductor.