Casio Computer Co., Ltd.

Naoki Kato

Hiroshi Matsumoto

Shinichi Shimomaki

Nobuyuki Yamamura

Hideaki Shimizu

A thin-film memory element made by the technique of forming thin film and functioning as a thin-film transistor. The memory element has two gate-insulating films, and two gate electrodes formed on the gate-insulating films, respectively. The first gate-insulating film can accumulate electrical charge, whereas the second gate-insulating film cannot. The gate electrode on the first gate-insulating film is used as write/erase electrode, and the gate electrode on the second gate-insulating film is used as read electrode. Since the memory element has two electrodes, one for writing or erasing data, and the other for reading data, its threshold voltage remains unchanged. Hence, data can be read from the thin-film memory element for a virtually indefinitely long period of time.

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Fussa, Japan

Naoki Kato