Patent ID: 8421049

Claim:
A switching device, comprising: an ion conducting part having an ion conductor inside of which metal ions can move, a first electrode formed on said ion conducting part to be in contact with said ion conducting part, a second electrode positioned on said ion conducting part at a predetermined distance away from said first electrode, for supplying said metal ions to said ion conductor, or for receiving said metal ions from the ion conductor to precipitate metal corresponding to the metal ions, and formed to be in contact with the ion conducting part, and a third electrode formed to have a gap with the ion conducting part, wherein: when a negative voltage relative to said second electrode is applied to said third electrode, a precipitate composed of said metal grows at a region of said ion conducting part between said first electrode and said second electrode, and in response to growth of the precipitate, electric characteristics change, and wherein the amount of precipitate is controlled by applying a voltage to said third electrode from the outside.