Ferromagnetic memory based on torroidal elements
US5923583A · kind A · utility
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 23, 1997 |
| Grant date | Jul 13, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 23, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG11C11/1675
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A magnetic memory cell for storing binary encoded data and a memory constructed from these memory cells. The memory cell stores information in the direction of magnetization of a torroidal layer of magnetic material. The memory cell is constructed from a structure having a top electrode, a soft layer which includes a planar sheet of a soft magnetic material, a hard layer which includes a planar sheet of a hard magnetic material, and a bottom electrode, the soft and hard layers being sandwiched between the top and bottom electrodes. The various layers are torroids. The hard and soft materials are chosen such that the magnitude to the magnetic field needed to magnetize the hard magnetic material is greater than the magnitude of the magnetic field needed to magnetize the soft magnetic material. The memory cell also includes a write circuit that generates first and second magnetic fields. The first is generated by passing a current between the top and bottom electrodes of a memory cell in a direction that determines the data state to be written. The magnitudes of the first and second magnetic fields are less than that needed to magnetize the soft magnetic material. However, the magnitu…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.