US Patent 7404338 - Dual nanostructures for environmental compensation sensor

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7404338.html

This patent from ETH Zurich teaches using carbon nanotubes in a force sensor. Two carbon nanotubes are used to allow for common mode rejection to eliminate variations from environmental effects. Claim 1 reads:

1. A force sensor device, comprising:

a support of two arms carrying a longitudinal electromechanical element in form of a nanostructure, said nanostructure having an electrical property changeable in response to a mechanical deformation due to a force, said nanostructure defined as a first nanostructure;

a moveable element disposed to transmit a force to said nanostructure; and

a second nanostructure carried by said arms for compensating for environmental effects.