Amorphous metal thin-film non-linear resistor
AssigneeState of Oregon Acting By and Through the State Board of Higher Education On Behalf of Oregon State Univesity
InventorE. William Cowell, III
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An amorphous metal thin-film non-linear resistor (AMNR) is provided. The AMNR is an electronic device possessing symmetric non-linear current-voltage (I-V) characteristics, an exemplary configuration of which may comprise three sequentially deposited layers which include a lower amorphous metal thin-film (AMTF) interconnect, a thin-film insulator located on top of the AMTF interconnect, and two upper conductive contacts located on top of the insulator and disposed in the same physical plane.
Claims11
An amorphous metal thin-film nonlinear resistor possessing symmetric nonlinear current-voltage characteristics, comprising:
- an amorphous metal thin-film interconnect;
- an insulator layer disposed over the interconnect;
- and
- first and second electrical contacts disposed over a selected surface of the insulator layer and interconnect, each connector having at least a respective portion thereof overlapping a respective portion of the interconnect to provide electrical communication from the first contact through the insulator layer and amorphous metal interconnect to the second contact,
- whereby a voltage applied across the first and second electrical contacts results in an electrical current that varies nonlinearly with, and symmetrically with polarity of, applied voltage.
A method of fabricating an amorphous metal thin-film nonlinear resistor, comprising:
- depositing an amorphous metal thin-film interconnect on a substrate;
- depositing an insulator layer over the interconnect;
- and
- forming first and second electrical contacts over a selected surface of the insulator layer and interconnect, each connector having at least a respective portion thereof overlapping a respective portion of the interconnect to provide electrical communication from the first contact through the insulator layer and amorphous metal interconnect to the second contact,
- whereby a voltage applied across the first and second electrical contacts results in an electrical current that varies nonlinearly with, and symmetrically with polarity of, applied voltage.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.