US Patent 7982209 - CNT crossbar memory with steering diode

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7982209.html

This patent from SanDisk3D teaches an improved version of the carbon nanotube memory originally developed by Nantero in which p-i-n diodes are incorporated into the memory cells to avoid current sneak paths which make addressing of memory cells difficult. Claim 1 reads:

1. A memory cell comprising:

a first conductor;

a steering element, wherein the steering element is a vertically oriented p-i-n junction diode;

a carbon nanotube fabric; and

a second conductor, wherein the steering element and the carbon nanotube fabric are arranged electrically in series between the first conductor and the second conductor, and wherein the entire memory cell is formed above a substrate.