Patent ID: 8425858

Claim:
An apparatus, comprising: a substrate; an array of faceted structures disposed on a first surface of said substrate, wherein each faceted structure of said array comprises a sensor layer operable to react or to interact with at least one target species when the at least one target species is sufficiently proximate to said sensor layer, said sensor layer is capable of responding to the reaction or to the interaction in a detectable manner, and wherein each said faceted structure differs in at least one property across said array to define a gradient in said at least one property, wherein said array comprises a two-dimensional array and said at least one property comprises a first property and a second property, said first property of each said faceted structure is based on a first position of said faceted structure in said array along a first of the two dimensions, said second property of each said faceted structure is based on a second position of said faceted structure in said array along a second of the two dimensions, wherein said first property is a geometry of each said faceted structure and said second property is a composition of each said faceted structure; and a detector operable to detect a response to the reaction, or to the interaction, of the target species with the sensor layer.