US Patent 7700498 - Self-repair of nanostructures by liquidification

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7700498.html

Manufacturing limitations make structural defects and nonuniformity at sub-micron dimensions more likely than in microscale systems. This patent from Princeton University teaches a method to correct such defects for silicon or metal nanostructures by liquification and resolidification. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method of reducing geometrical and/or structural defects in a nanoscale device having at least one nanostructure with a minimum dimension about one micrometer or less comprising the steps of:

providing the nanoscale device;

fabricating a guiding surface on an exposed surface of the nanostructure;

liquifying the nanostructure for a period of time; and

permitting the liquified nanostructure to resolidify.