Patent ID: 7961493

Claim:
A programmable device, comprising: a source electrode; a drain electrode; a gate having an antiferromagnetic multiferroic material, said gate being switchable by application of an electrical signal thereto between a first switching state with a first spontaneous polarization direction and a second switching state with a second spontaneous polarization direction; a first material selected from the group consisting of ferromagnetic material and ferrimagnetic material, said first material being in immediate contact with the multiferroic material, a magnetization of the first material being switchable by a transition between the first switching state and the second switching state of the multiferroic material by an exchange coupling between electronic states of the multiferroic material and the first material; and means for determining a direction of the magnetization of the first material; wherein: transitions between the first and second switching states cause an electrical resistance between the source electrode and the drain electrode across a channel region to switch; a current path between the source electrode and the drain electrode includes a junction between a channel region material and a current path ferromagnetic material; and the switching of the electrical resistance between the source electrode and the drain electrode is due to a spin valve effect, wherein the switching state of the multiferroic material influences (i) a relative orientation of magnetic moments of charge carriers flowing across the junction and (ii) a magnetization of the current path ferromagnetic material.