US 5,883,397 AGranted

Plastic functional element

AssigneeMitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha

InventorsSatoru Isoda, Hiroaki Kawakubo, Satoshi Nishikawa, Kouichi Akiyama

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Abstract

A plastic functional element comprising a lower electrode and a transparent upper electrode provided perpendicular to the contact surface between a first oxidation reduction material membrane and a second oxidation reduction material membrane, the oxidation reduction potentials of which being different each other, wherein, based on the difference in oxidation reduction potentials between the oxidation reduction material membranes, by irradiating light to the contact surface or applying a voltage between the electrodes, the condition of electron in the oxidation reduction material is controlled, so as to store information of incident light or applied voltage, and an operational function responding to an input voltage is given, thereby the minimization in size is possible to realize a high density and high speed operation.

Claims110

Dependent claims

A plastic functional element comprising:

a first oxidation reduction material membrane comprised of a first oxidation reduction material;
a second oxidation reduction material membrane comprised of a second oxidation reduction material having an oxidation reduction potential different from that of said first oxidation reduction material, and provided in contact with said first oxidation reduction material membrane;
a first electrode connected to said first oxidation reduction material membrane;
and
a second electrode connected to said second oxidation reduction material membrane, said first and second oxidation reduction material membranes being sandwiched between said second electrode and said first electrode;
wherein at least one of said first and second oxidation reduction material membranes includes an alterable inter-molecular transferable electron condition stored within said at least one of said first and second membrane for a certain time periods, said time period being sufficient to maintain storage of a status condition, in response to, and after removal of, a light or voltage stimulus, said electron condition being based on the difference of the oxidation reduction potentials between said first and second oxidation reduction materials.

3 more elements

A method for operating a device to manipulate data, said device including a first oxidation reduction material membrane having a first oxidation reduction potential and a second oxidation reduction material membrane having a second oxidation reduction potential that is different than said first oxidation reduction potential, wherein each membrane is in contact with one another and each membrane includes an alterable electron condition which can represent data within one of said first and second membranes, said method comprising the steps of:

applying a stimulus to at least one of said first and second oxidation reduction material membranes;
changing the electron condition within at least one of said first and second membranes to an altered state which defines data, in response to said stimulus;
removing said stimulus from said at least one membrane;
maintaining said altered state of said electron condition after removal of said stimulus;
and
reading out said altered state of said electron condition as data.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 08/862,741Filed 23 May 1997 · continuation
Priority: JP 5-1635261 Jul 1993
Granted: 16 Mar 1999
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification16 codes

H01G 9/22
Electrolytic capacitors, rectifiers, detectors, switching devices, light-sensitive or temperature-sensitive devices; Processes of their…
B82Y 10/00
Nanotechnology for information processing, storage or transmission
G11C 7/005
Arrangements for writing information into, or reading information out from, a digital store: with combined beam-and individual cell access
G11C 13/0014
RRAM elements whose operation depends upon chemical change: comprising cells based on organic memory material