US3769559A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Non-volatile storage element
Assignee: International Business Machines Corp
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Filing: 1972-06-21
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Granted: 1973-10-30
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Expires: 1992-06-21
Abstract
Abstract A process for forming a non-volatile storage element having symmetrical characteristics comprising the steps of forming a pair of back-to-back Schottky barrier diodes on a monolithic substrate and selectively passing current between the Schottky barrier diodes in opposite directions in order to form a nonvolatile bistable storage element.
Inventors
- 👤 J Dorler
- 👤 J Forneris
- 👤 D Swietek
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-30 06:10
CPC Classifications
G; G11; G11C; G11C11/00; G11C11/21; G11C11/34; G11C11/39; G11C17/00; G11C17/14; G11C17/16; H; H10; H10B; H10B63/00; H10D; H10D99/00
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 9
Claim 1
Independent Claim
181 words
A non-volatile bistable storage device formed by: a. forming a pair of back-to-back metal Schottky barrier diodes on a substrate, b. selectively passing current between the pair of Schottky barrier diodes for forming a high And a low bistable impedance device storage element, c. said forming step comprising fabricating a pair of Schottky barrier diodes by selectively deposting metal on a silicon substrate so as to interconnect respective cathode terminals, and provide a current path between respective anode terminals, and d. said passing step comprising firstly passing current in one direction between the respective anode terminals so as to alter the first quadrant impedance state of said back-to-back Schottky barrier diodes for forming an altered device, passing current in an opposite direction between the anode terminals so as to alter the third quadrant impedance state of said altered device for forming a newly altered device, and then passing current in said one direction so as to simultaneously alter the first and third quadrant impedance states of said newly altered device for forming a high and low bistable impedance device storage element.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
181 words
A non-volatile bistable storage device formed by: a. forming a pair of back-to-back metal Schottky barrier diodes on a substrate, b. selectively passing current between the pair of Schottky barrier diodes for forming a high And a low bistable impedance device storage element, c. said forming step comprising fabricating a pair of Schottky barrier diodes by selectively deposting metal on a silicon substrate so as to interconnect respective cathode terminals, and provide a current path between respective anode terminals, and d. said passing step comprising firstly passing current in one direction between the respective anode terminals so as to alter the first quadrant impedance state of said back-to-back Schottky barrier diodes for forming an altered device, passing current in an opposite direction between the anode terminals so as to alter the third quadrant impedance state of said altered device for forming a newly altered device, and then passing current in said one direction so as to simultaneously alter the first and third quadrant impedance states of said newly altered device for forming a high and low bistable impedance device storage element.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
76 words
A process for forming a non-volatile bistable storage element comprising the steps of: a. forming a pair of back-to-back metal Schottky barrier diodes by selectively depositing metal on a semiconductor substrate, b. selectively and sequentially passing different values of current in opposite directions between the pair of respective anode terminals associated with said back-to-back Schottky barrier diodes for forming between the pair of respected anode terminals a high and a low impedance non-volatile bistable storage element.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
76 words
A process for forming a non-volatile bistable storage element comprising the steps of: a. forming a pair of back-to-back metal Schottky barrier diodes by selectively depositing metal on a semiconductor substrate, b. selectively and sequentially passing different values of current in opposite directions between the pair of respective anode terminals associated with said back-to-back Schottky barrier diodes for forming between the pair of respected anode terminals a high and a low impedance non-volatile bistable storage element.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
143 words
A process for forming a non-volatile bistable storage element as in claim 2 comprising the steps of: a. selectively passing a first predetermined value of current in a first direction between said pair of anode terminals so as to alter the first quadrant impedance of said back-to-back Schottky barrier diodes for forming an altered device, b. selectively passing a second predetermined value of current in an opposite direction to said first direction between said anode terminals so as to alter the third quadrant impedance of said altered device for forming a newly altered device, and c. selectively passing a third predetermined value of current in said first direction between said anode terminals so as to simultaneously alter the first and third quadrant impedance of said newly altered device for forming a non-volatile bistable storage device having a high and a low impedance state.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
29 words
A process for forming a non-volatile bistable storage element as in claim 3 comprising the step of: a. forming said pair of Schottky barrier diodes on a silicon substrate.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
33 words
A process for forming a non-volatile bistable storage element as in claim 4 comprising the step of: a. forming said pair of Schottky barrier diodes by selectively depositing metal on a silicon substrate.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
41 words
A process for forming a non-volatile bistable storage element as in claim 5 comprising the step of: a. depositing metal on said silicon substrate so as to directly interconnect the respective cathode terminals of said pair of back-to-back Schottky barrier diodes.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
46 words
A process for forming a non-volatile bistable storage element as in claim 6 comprising the step of: a. forming a pair of interconnection temrinals to the respective anode terminals of said back-to-back Schottky barrier diodes so as to form a current path between said interconnection terminals.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1976-10-29 | 1977-04-30 | 1977-10-30 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1980-10-29 | 1981-04-30 | 1981-10-30 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1984-10-29 | 1985-04-30 | 1985-10-30 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |