US Patent 7288970 - Volatile switch using nanotube channel

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Usually non-volatile memory is more desirable than volatile memory because the store of information is independent of a continued supply of power. However, this patent from Nantero claims carbon nanotube switches in a volatile configuration which may be beneficial to higher speed switching electronics.

1. An integrated switching device, comprising: a signal input terminal; an output terminal; and a control structure including at least one control input terminal, electrical stimulation of said control structure controlling formation of a controllably-formable electrically conductive channel between the signal input terminal and the output terminal, a first portion of the electrically conductive channel including a nanotube channel element and a second portion of the electrically conductive channel including a field modulatable semiconductor channel element, wherein the integrated switching device is volatile.