Patent ID: 8422287

Claim:
An MRAM array, comprising: a regular two-dimensional array of STT MTJ cells, formed as N parallel rows of M uniformly spaced cells; an array of N parallel, horizontally disposed bit lines, wherein each bit line electrically contacts all M cells in one of said N rows; an array of M parallel word lines vertically separated from said bit lines at a uniform vertical distance, wherein said word lines are orthogonal to said bit lines and wherein each of said word lines is above a row of N cells and wherein each of said word lines provides a bi-directional current and generates a pulsed magnetic field; and wherein one of said MTJ cells is positioned at each vertical intersection of a word line and a bit line; and wherein each MTJ cell is patterned to form a horizontal C-shaped cross-section having a longer axis that is orthogonal to the direction of said word lines; and wherein each MTJ cell switches a magnetization direction of a free layer relative to the magnetization direction of a pinned layer in accord with C-mode switching activated by the spin torque transfer by a spin-polarized critical current generated by said bit line and passing perpendicularly through said MTJ cell in conjunction with a pulsed external magnetic field.