US Patent 7926193 - Nanowire magnetic sensor

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7926193.html

This patent from Honeywell teaches a way to use magnetic nanowires to construct a precise directional compass for use in areas where GPS is not possible. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method for fabricating a nanowire magnetic sensor, comprising:

forming a plurality of magneto-resistive (MR) nanowires on a flexible substrate,

wherein said plurality of MR nanowires are positioned to create an array of MR nanosensors, and

wherein each of said MR nanosensors in said array comprises a set of said plurality of MR nanowires, wherein said MR nanowires in said sets are each aligned in the same position for one direction; and

connecting said array MR nanosensors into at least one Wheatstone bridge configuration.