| US 7,613,040 B1 | ||
| Methods for using sense lines to thermally control the state of an MRAM | ||
| Janice H. Nickel, Sunnyvale, Calif. (US); Manuj Bhattacharyya, Cupertino, Calif. (US); and Robert G. Walmsley, Palo Alto, Calif. (US) | ||
| Assigned to Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Gyeonggi-do (Korea, Republic of) | ||
| Filed on Jun. 05, 2008, as Appl. No. 12/133,930. | ||
| Application 12/133930 is a division of application No. 10/733089, filed on Dec. 11, 2003, granted, now 7,397,098. | ||
| Int. Cl. G11C 11/14 (2006.01) | ||
| U.S. Cl. 365—173 | 10 Claims |
| 1. A method of switching a magnetic orientation of at least one of a plurality of magnetic memory elements in a magnetic random
access device comprising:
coupling a sense line to the at least one of the plurality of magnetic memory elements wherein the sense line includes a first
via and a second via; and
utilizing the sense line to thermally assist in switching a magnetic orientation of at least one of the plurality of magnetic
memory elements, wherein utilizing the sense line to thermally assist in switching a magnetic orientation of at least one
of the plurality of magnetic memory elements further comprising: coupling a current source to the sense line; and utilizing
the sense line to heat at least one of the plurality of magnetic memory elements; and
wherein utilizing the sense line to heat at least one of the plurality of magnetic memory elements further comprises: utilizing
the current source to provide a current from the first via to the second via wherein the current heats at least one of the
plurality of magnetic memory elements.
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