Magnetic bubble domain memory chip with major/minor bubble path configuration

Claim 1

In a magnetic bubble domain memory, the combination comprising: a planar layer of magnetic material in which magnetic bubbles can be moved, an overlay pattern of magnetically soft material disposed on a major surface of said planar magnetic layer and defining at least one bubble propagation path on said major surface of said planar magnetic layer for guiding the movement of said bubbles in said layer in response to a change in orientation of a rotary magnetic field within the plane of said layer, said overlay pattern of magnetically soft material including a bubble storage section and a bubble output section disposed adjacent thereto, a replicate/transfer gate structure of magnetically soft material interposed between said bubble storage section and said bubble output section, said replicate/transfer gate structure comprising an elongated hair-pin configuration disposed as a first level metal layer, means defining an insulation layer disposed atop said hair-pin structure, at least one pickax structure of magnetically soft material disposed on said insulation layer as a second level metal layer in registration with said hair-pin structure disposed therebeneath and including opposite end extensions of the pickax configuration beyond the outer boundaries of said hair-pin structure, pulse generator means operably associated with said replicate/transfer gate structure and adapted to direct pulsed energy thereto in first and second pulsing modes, and control means regulating said pulse generator means for operation in either of said first and second modes, wherein said replicate/transfer gate structure is operable to replicate a magnetic bubble domain incident thereon from said bubble storage section for return to said bubble storage section while transferring said incident magnetic bubble domain to said bubble output section in a first mode, and to transfer said incident bubble to said bubble output section in a second mode.