The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 18, 2012
Filed:
Jul. 27, 2010
Vadym Zayets, Ibaraki, JP;
Koji Ando, Ibaraki, JP;
Shinji Yuasa, Ibaraki, JP;
Hidekazu Saito, Ibaraki, JP;
Vadym Zayets, Ibaraki, JP;
Koji Ando, Ibaraki, JP;
Shinji Yuasa, Ibaraki, JP;
Hidekazu Saito, Ibaraki, JP;
Abstract
A nonvolatile optical memory element in which a ferromagnetic body is provided on a semiconductor causes such a problem that in a case where magnetization of the ferromagnetic body is read by light, magneto-optical response becomes very small when the ferromagnetic body is small in volume. The present invention provides a memory element, a memory device, and a data reading method, each of which is applicable to data reading from a nonvolatile optical memory element. In a nonvolatile optical memory element having a structure in which a ferromagnetic body is provided on a semiconductor that is connected to an optical waveguide, electrons are injected into the semiconductor via the ferromagnetic body so that the electrons that are spin-polarized according to a magnetization direction of the ferromagnetic body are injected into the semiconductor, thereby enlarging a region in which a photomagnetic effect occurs effectively. By applying an electric pulse and an optical pulse to the nonvolatile optical memory element, it is possible to effectively read recorded data according to a magnetization direction of the ferromagnetic body.