US Patent 7319235 - Nanoporous dielectric for resistance switching memory

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7319235.html

Chalcogenide and conductive polymer materials are attracting increased interest for non-volatile memory. This patent from Infineon teaches nanoporous materials as an alternative material that can achieve a better stability under temperature change. Claim 1 reads:

1. A nonvolatile, resistively switching memory cell, comprising: a layer of a solid-state ion conductor arranged between a first electrode and a second electrode, wherein the solid-state ion conductor includes a nanoporous low-k dielectric and is free of chalcogenide glass, wherein the porosity of the dielectric is in the range of 1 to 50%, and wherein the dielectric includes ions of a metal from which one of the electrodes is formed.