Heater and memory cell, memory device and recording head including the heater

A memory device, comprising:

• a plurality of memory cells, comprising:
• a heater, comprising:
• a plurality of leads;
• and
• a heating element which is formed between said plurality of leads, a material of said heating element being different from a material of said plurality of leads such that a location of a hot spot in said heater is controllable based on a polarity of current in said heater;
• and
• a storage medium formed adjacent to the heater;
• and
• a current source electrically coupled to said plurality of memory cells, for generating said current in said heater, said current comprising a first current and a second current having a polarity which is reversed from said first current,
• wherein the material of the heating element and the material of the plurality of leads comprise a doped semiconductor, a dopant concentration of the doped semiconductor in the heating element being different than a dopant concentration of the doped semiconductor in the plurality of leads,
• wherein the heating element contacts a first lead of the plurality leads at a first side of the heating element, and contacts a second lead of the plurality of leads at a second side of the heating element which is opposite the first side, and the location of the hot spot is moved from a first interface between the first side of the heating element and the first lead, to a second interface between the second side of the heating element and the second lead by changing the polarity of the current,
• wherein the storage medium comprises a first region configured to store a bit of information corresponding to the hot spot, and a second region configured to store a bit of information corresponding to the hot spot, and
• wherein the first region of the storage medium is formed adjacent to the first interface, and the second region of the storage medium is formed adjacent to the second interface.

A recording head for storing information in a storage medium of an information storage device, said recording head comprising:

• a heater, comprising:
• a plurality of leads;
• and
• a heating element which is formed between said plurality of leads, a material of said heating element being different from a material of said plurality of leads such that a location of a hot spot in said heater is controllable based on a polarity of current in said heater,
• wherein the material of the heating element and the material of the plurality of leads comprise a doped semiconductor, a dopant concentration of the doped semiconductor in the heating element being different than a dopant concentration of the doped semiconductor in the plurality of leads,
• wherein the heating element contacts a first lead of the plurality leads at a first side of the heating element, and contacts a second lead of the plurality of leads at a second side of the heating element which is opposite the first side, and the location of the hot spot is moved from a first interface between the first side of the heating element and the first lead, to a second interface between the second side of the heating element and the second lead by changing the polarity of the current,
• wherein the storage medium comprises a first region configured to store a bit of information corresponding to the hot spot, and a second region configured to store a bit of information corresponding to the hot spot,
• wherein the first interface is configured to store a bit of information in the first region if the first region is adjacent to the first interface, and the second interface is configured to store a bit of information in the second region if the second region is adjacent to the second interface, and
• wherein the plurality of leads are configured to be connected to a current source which generates a first current and a second current having a polarity which is reversed from the first current.