Sony patents memory chip that saves data without using transistors
Sony describes a storage device that combines volatile and nonvolatile memory to save data directly into a variable resistance element. The design uses specific switches to move data between the two types of memory without relying on the transistors of the volatile unit.
In the filing’s own words
Data held in a volatile storage unit can be stored into a variable resistance element, without intervention of any transistor of the volatile storage unit. A storage device includes: a volatile storage unit including a volatile storage node that complementarily holds data, and an access transistor connected between the volatile storage node and a bit line; and a nonvolatile storage unit including a nonvolatile storage node that complementarily holds the data, a first switch connected between the nonvolatile storage node and a store line, and a second switch connected between the nonvolatile storage node and the volatile storage node. The first switch includes a store transistor that stores data held in the volatile storage node into the nonvolatile storage node via the store line, and the second switch includes a restore transistor that restores data held in the nonvolatile storage node into the volatile storage node.
What exactly they claim (claim 1)
1. A storage device comprising: a volatile storage unit including a volatile storage node that complementarily holds data, and an access transistor connected between the volatile storage node and a bit line; and a nonvolatile storage unit including a nonvolatile storage node that complementarily holds the data, a first switch connected between the nonvolatile storage node and a store line, and a second switch connected between the nonvolatile storage node and the volatile storage node.
Facts
- Company
- Sony (SONY SEMICONDUCTOR SOLUTIONS CORPORATION)
- Official title
- STORAGE DEVICE
- Publication number
- US20260329485A1
- Application number
- 19103550
- Filed
- Jun 22, 2023
- Published
- Oct 22, 2026
- Inventors
- 1
- Claims
- 19
Classified under
G06F 3/0673 Physics & computingG06F 3/0604 Physics & computingG06F 3/0655 Physics & computingMore from Sony in Chips & hardware
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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.