Patent ID: 7553472

Claim:
A nanotube forming method comprising: growing a plurality of nanotubes on a substrate at least to an intermediate length that is deterministic of nanotube intrinsic conductivity, individual nanotubes exhibiting an effective conductivity, which varies among the plurality of nanotubes, with some of the effective conductivities being inside a selected range while others are outside the selected range and individual nanotubes having a terminal end contacting the substrate and having an initial end; stopping nanotube growth; blanket depositing a conductive material over and in electrical contact with the nanotube initial ends; selectively etching conductive material from the initial ends of nanotubes exhibiting effective conductivities either inside or outside the selected range; using at least some of the deposited conductive material and screening out nanotubes exhibiting conductivities outside the selected range; and completing growth of nanotubes exhibiting effective conductivities inside the selected range without completing growth of nanotubes exhibiting effective conductivities outside the selected range.