Abstract:
A memory cell is provided in the present invention. The memory cell includes a first electrode receiving a first voltage to form an electric field therearound; and a combination arranged on the first electrode, comprising a liquid crystal molecule coupled with a magnetic substance for forming a magnetic field therearound, wherein the magnetic field changing with the first electric field.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to a data storing device, in particular, to a digital data storing device. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    Liquid crystals are substances that exhibit a phase of matter that has properties between those of a conventional liquid, and those of a solid crystal. For instance, a liquid crystal (LC) may flow like a liquid, but have the molecules in the liquid arranged and/or oriented in a crystal-like way. 
         [0003]    The out appearance of a LC molecule is an ellipse-like strip. Usually, LC molecules are regularly ordered or orientationally arranged with each other in the way such that the longitudinal axes of LC molecules are almost parallel to each other. Such orientational arrangement is regarded as the alignment in the relevant technical field. There are many different types of LC molecule, which can be distinguished by the type of ordering or arrangement that is present. Typically one can distinguish orientational order by determining whether LC molecules are arranged in any sort of ordered lattice or whether molecules are mostly pointing in the same direction. Therefore, LC molecules can be accordingly categorized into three ordinary types such as nematic, smectic and cholesteric LC molecule. 
         [0004]    Please refer to  FIG. 1(   a ), which is a schematic diagram illustrating an orientational arrangement of LC molecules without being influenced by an external applied electrical field according to the present application. In the meanwhile, please also refer to  FIG. 1(   b ), which is a schematic diagram illustrating an orientational alignment of LC molecules being influenced by an external applied electrical field according to the present application. In  FIGS. 1(   a ) and  1 ( b ), an upper substrate  10   a , a lower substrate  10   b , an upper electrode  12   a , a lower electrode  12   b  and a long-chain LC molecules  14  are shown therein. Please first referring to  FIG. 1(   a ), an external applied electrical field is not applied to the long-chain LC molecules  14  so that the long-chain LC molecules  14  is not influenced by the external applied electrical field. The long-chain LC molecules  14  are horizontally rested between the upper substrate  10   a  and the lower substrate  10   b  and twisted with 90 degrees from the lower substrate  10   b  to the upper substrate  10   a . That is, the longitudinal axes of the long-chain LC molecules  14  are approximately parallel to the upper substrate  10   a  and the lower substrate  10   b . Please keep referring to  FIG. 1(   b ). A voltage difference is applied between the upper electrode  12   a  and the lower electrode  12   b  for forming an external applied electrical field between the upper substrate  10   a  and the lower substrate  10   b . The long-chain LC molecules  14  is now influenced by such external applied electrical field so that the orientational alignment of the long-chain LC molecule  14  is transited from a horizontal orientational alignment to a vertical orientational alignment. That is, longitudinal axes of the long-chain LC molecules  14  are approximately perpendicular to the upper substrate  10   a  and the lower substrate  10   b.    
         [0005]    Conventionally, the LC molecules having the above-mentioned technical features are widely applied to various flat panel displays. However, it has rarely seen any technological renovation in other technical field except for the display field that utilizes the above-mentioned technical features possessing by the LC molecules. 
         [0006]    To overcome the mentioned drawbacks of the prior art, a surface treatment method and device thereof are provided. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    According to the first aspect of the present invention, a memory cell is provided. The memory cell includes a first electrode receiving a first voltage to form an electric field therearound; and a combination arranged on the first electrode, comprising a liquid crystal molecule coupled with a magnetic substance for forming a magnetic field therearound, wherein the magnetic field changing with the first electric field. 
         [0008]    Preferably, the memory cell further includes a second electrode wherein the combination is arranged between the first electrode and the second electrode and a voltage difference is applied between the first electrode and the second electrode to form an electric field. 
         [0009]    Preferably, the memory cell further includes a first substrate and a second substrate, on which the first electrode and the second electrode are respectively disposed. 
         [0010]    Preferably, the substrate is one of a glass substrate and a semiconductor substrate. 
         [0011]    Preferably, the memory cell further includes a substrate on which the first electrode is disposed. 
         [0012]    Preferably, the memory cell further includes a substrate having a first side, on which the first electrode is disposed, and a second side; and a second electrode disposed on the second side, wherein the combination is arranged between the first electrode and the second electrode and the second electrode receives a second voltage to form a second electric field therearound. 
         [0013]    Preferably, the memory cell further includes a switch for controlling the voltage. 
         [0014]    Preferably, the switch is a transistor. 
         [0015]    Preferably, the liquid crystal molecule is one selected from a group consisting of a nematic liquid crystal molecule, a smectic liquid crystal molecule, a cholesteric liquid crystal molecule, a discotic liquid crystal molecule, a thermotropic liquid crystal molecule and a recentrant liquid crystal molecule. 
         [0016]    Preferably, the magnetic substance has a shape selected from a group consisting of an elongated shape, a pin shape and a stripe shape. 
         [0017]    Preferably, the magnetic substance has a longitudinal axis parallel to a longitudinal axis of the liquid crystal molecule. 
         [0018]    Preferably, the substance has a nanoscaled size. 
         [0019]    Preferably, the liquid crystal molecule and the magnetic substance are coupled with each other by one of an electrostatic force and a van der Waals force for forming the combination. 
         [0020]    According to the second aspect of the present invention, a memory cell is provided. The memory cell includes an electrode; a combination arranged on the electrode, comprising a liquid crystal molecule and a magnetic substance, wherein the arrangement of the combination changes with the an electric field formed by a voltage applied to the electrode. 
         [0021]    According to the third aspect of the present invention, a memory device has a plurality of memory cells is provided. 
         [0022]    According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, a memory device is provided. The memory device includes a plurality of memory cells, each of which comprises an electrode; and a plurality of combinations arranged on the electrode, each of which comprises a liquid crystal molecule and a magnetic substance; and a magnetic sensor, wherein a voltage is applied to the electrode to vary an arrangement of the combination so that a variation of a magnetic field formed around the cell is sensed by the magnetic sensor. 
         [0023]    Preferably, the memory device further includes a second electrode, wherein the combinations are arranged between the first electrode and the second electrode, and a voltage is applied between the first electrode and the second electrode to form an electric field. 
         [0024]    Preferably, the memory device further includes a substrate having a first side, on which the first electrode is disposed, and a second side; and a second electrode disposed on the second side, where the combinations are arranged between the first electrode and the second electrode, wherein a first voltage is applied to the first electrode to form a first electric field therearound, and a second voltage is applied to the second electrode to form a second electric field therearound. 
         [0025]    According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, a data memorizing method is provided. The data memorizing method comprising steps of applying a voltage to an electrode on which a combination comprising a liquid crystal molecule and a magnetic substance; and varying the voltage to vary a magnetic field formed around the combination. 
         [0026]    According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, a device for implementing the data memorizing method is provided. 
         [0027]    The foregoing and other features and advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood through the following descriptions with reference to the drawings: 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0028]      FIG. 1(   a ) is a schematic diagram illustrating an orientational arrangement of LC molecules without being influenced by an external applied electrical field according to the present application; 
           [0029]      FIG. 1(   b ) is a schematic diagram illustrating an orientational alignment of LC molecules being influenced by an external applied electrical field according to the present application; 
           [0030]      FIG. 2(   a ) is a schematic diagram illustrating an orientational arrangement of the combinations in the memory cell without being influenced by an external applied electrical field according to the present application; 
           [0031]      FIG. 2(   b ) is a schematic diagram illustrating an orientational arrangement of the combinations in the memory cell being influenced by an external applied electrical field according to the present application; 
           [0032]      FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram illustrating a first alternative embodied architecture for the memory cell according to the present application; 
           [0033]      FIG. 4  is a schematic diagram illustrating a second alternative embodied architecture for the memory cell according to the present application; and 
           [0034]      FIG. 5  is a schematic diagram illustrating a digital data memory device according to the present application. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0035]    The present invention will now be described more specifically with reference to the following embodiments. It is to be noted that the following descriptions of preferred embodiments of this invention are presented herein for the aspect of illustration and description only; it is not intended to be exhaustive or to be limited to the precise from disclosed. 
         [0036]    Please refer to  FIG. 2(   a ), which is a schematic diagram illustrating an orientational arrangement of the combinations in the memory cell without being influenced by an external applied electrical field according to the present application. At the same time, please refer to  FIG. 2(   b ), which is a schematic diagram illustrating an orientational arrangement of the combinations in the memory cell being influenced by an external applied electrical field according to the present application. The memory cell  200  in  FIGS. 2(   a ) and  2 ( b ) includes a first substrate  20   a , a second substrate  20   b , a first electrode  22   a , a second electrode  22   b , a LC (Liquid Crystal) molecule  24 , a magnetic substance  26 , a combination  25 , a switch  27 , a horizontal magnetic field Hh, a vertical magnetic field Hv and a magnetic sensor  28 . The LC molecule  24  is a nematic LC molecule, a smectic LC molecule, a cholesteric LC molecule or a long-chain LC molecule. The switch  27  is made as a transistor. The first substrate  20   a  and the second substrate  20   b  are a glass-made substrate or a semiconductor-made substrate. The magnetic substance  26  has an elongated form, a pin-shaped form or a stripe-shaped form. The magnetic substance  26  is polarized in advance to become a polar substance or a magnetic substance with polarity. 
         [0037]    At least one LC molecule  24  and at least one magnetic substance  26  are coupled with each other by an electrostatic force or a van der Waals force, whereby the combination is formed. In  FIGS. 2(   a ) and  2 ( b ), though each LC molecule  24  is coupled with six magnetic substances  26  having a stripe-shaped form, for a LC molecule  24  with a longer longitudinal axis, the numbers of the magnetic substances  26  coupled with the LC molecule  24  are correspondingly increased, and vice versa. That is, the numbers of the magnetic substances  26  coupled with the LC molecule  24  is depended on the practical circumstances regarding the size or the form of the adopted LC molecule  24 . Even each LC molecule  24  is only couple with one stripe-shaped magnetic substance  26  whose length is approximate or same to that of LC molecule  24 . The magnetic substance  26  has a nano-scaling size could be adopted in the present invention to form the combination  25 , but the present invention is not limited to be implemented with a nano-scaling magnetic substance  26 . In one embodied implementation, the magnetic substances  26  and the LC molecule  24  are coupled with each other as follows. The magnetic substance  26  and the LC molecule  24  have a longitudinal axis respectively and the longitudinal axis of the magnetic substance  26  is first aligned to be parallel to the longitudinal axis of the LC molecule  24 . Subsequently, at least one LC molecule  24  is accessed to at least one magnetic substance  26  and both are inherently coupled with each other by an electrostatic force or a van der Waals force, whereby the combination  25  is thus formed. 
         [0038]    Please again refer to  FIG. 2(   a ). Since the switch  27  is turned off, the external applied electrical field is not applied to the combination  25  so that the LC molecule  24  in the combination  25  is not influenced by the external applied electrical field. The combination  25  is horizontally rested between the first substrate  20   a  and the second substrate  20   b . That is, the longitudinal axes of the LC molecule  24  and the magnetic substances  26  are approximately parallel to the first substrate  20   a  and the second substrate  20   b . At the time, the plurality of the magnetic substances  26  disposed around the LC molecule  24  are correspondingly arranged in horizontal whereby a horizontal magnetic field Hh is thus formed around the memory cell  200 . Such horizontal magnetic field Hh around the memory cell  200  is inducted by the magnetic sensor  28 . 
         [0039]    Please again refer to  FIG. 2(   b ). Since the switch  27  is turned on, an external applied electrical field is formed between the first electrode  22   a  and the second electrode  22   b  and is applied to the combination  25  so that the LC molecule  24  in the combination  25  is influenced by the external applied electrical field. The LC molecule  24  is become to be vertically arranged between the first substrate  20   a  and the second substrate  20   b  and the combination  25  is correspondingly arranged in vertical as well. That is the longitudinal axes of the LC molecule  24  and the magnetic substances  26  are approximately perpendicular to the first substrate  20   a  and the second substrate  20   b . At the time, the plurality of the magnetic substances  26  disposed around the LC molecule  24  are correspondingly arranged in vertical whereby a vertical magnetic field Hv is thus formed around the memory cell  200 . Such vertical magnetic field Hv around the memory cell  200  is inducted by the magnetic sensor  28 . 
         [0040]    It is defined that a binary digit 0 is represented by the vertical magnetic field Hv and a binary digit 1 is represented by the horizontal magnetic field Hh, and vice versa. Once the voltage level between the first electrode  20   a  and the second electrode  20   b  is varied, the electrical field therebetween is correspondingly varied, whereby the status of the magnetic field around the memory cell  200  would be correspondingly varied or switched between Hv and Hh, such that the memory cell  200  is to be possessed of capability to memorize/storage the binary digital data, but is not only limited to the binary digital data. In this case, two bits digital could be stored in the memory cell  200 . 
         [0041]    It is noted that the present invention does not only provide two different kinds of the status of the magnetic fields Hv and Hh, but provide more different kinds of the status of the magnetic fields. Typically, it is known that the rotating angle for the LC molecule  24  is proportionally with respect to the strength of the external applied electrical field. For instance, a first further external electric field is designed to be applied to the combination  25  to render the combination  25  rotated with 45° degree against its original position and a 45-degree electric field H45 is thus generated to represent a first given kind of digital data. Alternatively, a second further external electric field is designed to applied to the combination  25  to render the combination  25  rotated with 60° degree against its original position and a 60-degree electric field H60 is thus generated to represent a second given kind of digital data. As long as the magnetic sensor  28  for inducting the magnetic field around the memory cell  200  is sensitive and fast enough to detect any slight variation of the status of the magnetic field, more than two different kinds of the status of the magnetic fields Hv and Hh for representing the digital data could be provided by the present invention for storing digital data. Based on the aforementioned, only one memory cell  200  according to the present application could storage quite a few kinds of the electronic digital data. For instance, a memory cell used for storing one byte digital data, namely storing 8, 16, 32 or more multiple bits digital data could be then provided. 
         [0042]    Please keep referring to  FIG. 3 , which is a schematic diagram illustrating a first alternative embodied architecture for the memory cell according to the present application. The memory cell  300  in  FIG. 3  includes a substrate  30 , an electrode  32 , a LC molecule  34 , a magnetic substance  36 , a combination  35 , a switch  37 , a vertical electrical field Hv and a magnetic sensor  38 . In this embodied architecture for the memory cell  300 , the magnetic sensor  38  is directly exposed to the combination  35  without any isolation by a conventional substrate or other materials as the embodied architecture demonstrated in  FIG. 1 . 
         [0043]    Furthermore, one electrode  32  is intended to be disposed in the embodied architecture in  FIG. 3 , rather than a couple of electrodes are disposed as a conventional manner. Typically, a voltage is inputted to the electrode  32  as an impulse and the electrical field for driving the LC molecule  34  is correspondingly generated. The LC molecule  34  is stimulated by the impulse-like electrical field, such that the orientational arrangement of the combination  35  is immediately rotated with a certain angle. A certain magnetic field corresponding to such certain angle against the original magnetic field Hh around the memory cell is therefore generated. According to the aforementioned, the certain magnetic field could be either a vertical magnetic field Hv or other magnetic field with respect to the certain angle. Hence, in this setup, two different kinds of the magnetic fields are fully provided for storing the basic 0 and 1 binary digits. 
         [0044]    Please refer to  FIG. 4 , which is a schematic diagram illustrating a second alternative embodied architecture for the memory cell according to the present application. The memory cell  400  in  FIG. 4  includes a substrate  40 , a first electrode  42   a , a second electrode  42   b , a LC molecule  44 , a magnetic substance  46 , a combination  45 , a switch  47 , a vertical electrical field Hv and a magnetic sensor  38 . In this embodied architecture for the memory cell  400 , there two electrodes, the first electrode  42   a  and the second electrode  42   b , are respectively disposed on two sides of the substrate  40 , which is an ingenious architecture. Two memory cells are simply divided and formed by one substrate  40  sandwiched therebetween and the entire size for two memory cells could be duly shrunk by such architecture. The work principle for the architecture in  FIG. 4  is totally same with the aforementioned. 
         [0045]    Whether the essence of the memory cell is volatile or non-volatile is determined by the characteristic of the LC molecule  44  adopted in the above-mentioned memory cells  200 ,  300  and  400  respectively demonstrated in  FIGS. 2(   a ),  2 ( b ),  3  and  4 . While a LC molecule  44  with a cholesterol essence is adopted in the memory cells, since such cholesterol LC molecule could contain its orientational arrangement during the period the external applied electrical field is applied to, even if the external applied electrical field is ceased, the memory cells  200 ,  300  and  400  adopted the cholesterol LC molecule would become an non-volatile memory cell. In contrary, if a nematic LC molecule or a smectic LC molecule is adopted, the memory cells  200 ,  300  and  400  would be a volatile memory cell, since a nematic LC molecule or a smectic LC molecule are unable to bear the orientational arrangement when the external applied electrical field is applied to. 
         [0046]    Please keep referring to  FIG. 5 , which is a schematic diagram illustrating a digital data memory device according to the present application. The memory device  50  as shown in  FIG. 5  includes a plurality of the memory cells  52 , a switch (not shown in the  FIG. 5 ) and a magnetic sensor  58 . The plurality of the memory cells  52  are the memory cells having the above-mentioned technical features. Each memory cells  52  that could be a transistor element are disposed with a switch to turn on or off the voltage for driving the external applied electrical field applied to the plurality of the memory cells  52 . Then the magnetic sensor  58  is applied to induct the status of the magnetic field. A digital data memory device  50  is then made up. A digital data is written in the digital data memory device  50  by controlling the status of the magnetic field and is read out from the digital data memory device  50  by inducting the status of the magnetic field by the magnetic sensor  58 . A massive digital data is able to be stored in the memory cells  52  by duly increasing the numbers of the memory cells  52 . The appearance of the digital data memory device  50  according to the present application is not limited to only a rectangular shape as shown in  FIG. 5 . For instance, a popular circular shape is able to be applied to the present application as the digital data memory device  50 . 
         [0047]    While the invention has been described in terms of what are presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention need not to be limited to the disclosed embodiment. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar orientational arrangement included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims that are to be accorded with the broadest interpretation, so as to encompass all such modifications and similar structures. According, the invention is not limited by the disclosure, but instead its scope is to be determined entirely by reference to the following claims.