Patent ID: 8796596

Claim:
A memory cell, comprising: a heater, comprising: a plurality of leads; and a heating element which is formed between said plurality of leads, a material of said heating element being different from a material of said plurality of leads such that a location of a hot spot in said heater is controllable based on a polarity of current in said heater; and a storage medium formed adjacent to the heater, wherein the material of the heating element and the material of the plurality of leads comprise a doped semiconductor, a dopant concentration of the doped semiconductor in the heating element being different than a dopant concentration of the doped semiconductor in the plurality of leads, wherein the heating element contacts a first lead of the plurality leads at a first side of the heating element, and contacts a second lead of the plurality of leads at a second side of the heating element which is opposite the first side, and the location of the hot spot is moved from a first interface between the first side of the heating element and the first lead, to a second interface between the second side of the heating element and the second lead by changing the polarity of the current, wherein the storage medium comprises a first region configured to store a bit of information corresponding to the hot spot, and a second region for storing a bit of information corresponding to the hot spot, wherein the first region of the storage medium is formed adjacent to the first interface, and the second region of the storage medium is formed adjacent to the second interface, and wherein the plurality of leads are configured to be connected to a current source which generates a first current and a second current having a polarity which is reversed from the first current.