Patent ID: 8644060

Claim:
A method of sensing a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) comprising: applying a first reference current through the MTJ; first programming the MTJ to a first value using the first reference current; detecting the resistance of the first programmed MTJ; determining if the detected resistance is above a first reference resistor and if so, declaring the MTJ to be at a first state; if not, determining if the detected resistance is below a second reference resistance and if so, declaring the MTJ to be at a second state; if not, applying a second reference current through the MTJ and second programming the MTJ to a second value using the second reference current; detecting the resistance of the second programmed MTJ; determining if the resistance of the detected second programmed MTJ is above the first reference resistance and if so, declare the MTJ to be at the second state; and if not, declaring the MTJ to be at the first state and programming the MTJ to the second state.