Device having a state dependent upon the state of particles dispersed in a carrier

A device including:

• a layer of material having particles dispersed therein;
• a first electrode disposed on a first surface of the layer;
• and,
• a second electrode disposed on a second surface of the layer opposite the first surface;
• wherein the particles have an initial state in which they do not form a conductive path between the first and second electrodes, and
• wherein the particles agglomerate and form a conductive path between the first and second electrodes in response to a prescribed voltage being applied across the first and second electrodes.

A device comprising:

• a layer of material having particles dispersed therein;
• a first electrode disposed on a first surface of the layer;
• and
• a second electrode disposed on a second surface of the layer opposite the first surface;
• wherein the particles have an initial state in which they form a conductive path between the first and second electrodes, and
• wherein further, the conductive path is broken in response to a prescribed voltage being applied across the first and second electrodes.

A device comprising:

• a layer at material having dipole particles dispersed therein;
• a first electrode disposed on a first surface of the layer;
• and,
• a second electrode disposed on a second surface of the layer;
• wherein the dipole particles are initially aligned in a first orientation, and are aligned in a second orientation when a prescribed voltage is applied, and
• wherein the dipole particles form a conductive path between the first and second electrodes when aligned in the second orientation, and do not form a conductive path between the first and second electrodes when aligned in the first orientation.

A device comprising:

• a gate electrode;
• a gate dielectric layer beneath the gate electrode, the gate dielectric layer comprising a layer of material having particles dispersed therein;
• a first electrically conductive element adjacent to a first side of the gate electrode;
• and
• a second electrically conductive element adjacent to a second side of the gate electrode opposite the first side;
• wherein the particles migrate in response to a prescribed voltage being applied to the gate electrode in such a manner as to alter current-voltage characteristics of the device.

A memory device comprising:

• an array of memory cells, each of the memory cells comprising:
• a gate electrode;
• a gate dielectric layer beneath the gate electrode, the gate dielectric layer comprising a layer of material having particles dispersed therein;
• a first electrically conductive element adjacent to a first side of the gate electrode;
• and
• a second electrically conductive element adjacent to a second side of the gate electrode opposite the first side;
• a state of the particles being changed when a prescribed voltage is applied across the first and second electrodes, to thereby write data into the memory cell, wherein a change in the state of the particles alters current-voltage characteristics of the memory cell.