Patent ID: 9664634
Date: 2017-05-30
CPC Classifications: B82Y,G01N

Claim:
1. Apparatus for detecting and identifying a chemical species in an environment, said apparatus comprising: a plurality of carbon nanotubes arranged to form a network, said network comprising a plurality of inter-carbon nanotube junctions; a plurality of electrical contacts, each of said plurality of electrical contacts being connected to said network such that the anisotropic electrical characteristics of said network can be measured dynamically while said network is exposed to the environment; wherein said network possesses electrical anisotrophy such that the ratio of the number of inter-carbon nanotube junctions which must be traversed by current per length of said plurality of carbon nanotubes differs for different directions within said network along the path from one of said plurality of electrical contacts to another of said plurality of electrical contacts, and further wherein the electrical anisotrophy of said network changes when a chemical species is present in the environment.