US Patent 7902586 - Horizontal gap mem-resistor

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7902586.html

Numerous nanoscale memory resistors have been proposed over the past decade such as HP's memristor. Most of these designs are based on vertical memory cell architecture in which the memory material is sandwiched between two electrodes. This patent teaches an alternative design based on laterally separate electrodes. Claim 1 reads:

1. A non-volatile memory device, comprising:

an insulating substrate;

a first electrode provided on the insulating substrate;

a second electrode provided on the insulating substrate;

a gap set between the first electrode and the second electrode; and

controller configured to change a bias voltage applied to the first electrode and the second electrode, to change a distance G of the gap set between the first electrode and the second electrode in a range of 0-50 nm wherein the bias voltage is a voltage in a transition region, and the bias voltage is changed to a voltage at a region other than the transition region, wherein the distance G is changed with resistance between the first and the second electrodes, to set a first resistance value or a second resistance value which is larger than the first resistance value, and to maintain the first resistance value or the second resistance value which is larger than the first resistance value.