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SonyPatent applicationChips & hardwareInterest 4/10

Sony patents memory that saves data using magnetic resistance

Sony describes a storage device that combines standard temporary memory with a special component that uses voltage to change magnetic resistance. This setup allows data to be saved in a way that keeps the electrical load balanced when the memory switches between different states.

Why it mattersThis filing focuses on the internal mechanics of how data is stored, which could lead to more efficient memory chips for future devices.

In the filing’s own words

It is enabled to store data held in a volatile storage unit in a nonvolatile storage unit on the basis of voltage drive. A storage device includes: a volatile storage unit that complementarily holds data; and a voltage-controlled magneto-resistive effect element that holds the data complementarily held in the volatile storage unit. There may be further included a variable resistance element connected between the volatile storage unit and the voltage-controlled magneto-resistive effect element, the variable resistance element enabling resistance between the volatile storage unit and the voltage-controlled magneto-resistive effect element to vary. The variable resistance element may vary resistance to cause cell voltages applied to the voltage-controlled magneto-resistive effect element to be substantially equal to each other, the cell voltages being a cell voltage applied when the voltage-controlled magneto-resistive effect element transitions from a high resistance state to a low resistance state and a cell voltage applied when the voltage-controlled magneto-resistive effect element transitions from the low resistance state to the high resistance state.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. A storage device comprising: a volatile storage unit that complementarily holds data; and a voltage-controlled magneto-resistive effect element that holds the data complementarily held in the volatile storage unit.

Facts

Company
Sony (SONY SEMICONDUCTOR SOLUTIONS CORPORATION)
Official title
STORAGE DEVICE
Publication number
US20260260680A1
Application number
18997212
Filed
Jun 5, 2023
Published
Sep 3, 2026
Inventors
4
Claims
20

Classified under

G11C 11/1697 Physics & computingG11C 11/161 Physics & computingG11C 11/1659 Physics & computingG11C 11/1675 Physics & computingH10N 50/10 Electricity & electronicsH10N 50/85 Electricity & electronics
Read the full filing (official PDF) ↗ Open in the Patent Tracker

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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.