Patent ID: 7203088

Claim:
A method of driving a magnetoresistive random access memory including memory cells, a state of which is switched between binary resistance values using a single set of write pulses, the method comprising: selecting a memory cell; reading a resistance value, which is a first value of the binary resistance values, of the selected memory cell, the resistance value read being defined as a first resistance value; performing a first write operation on the selected memory cell using a single set of first write pulses to change the resistance value of the selected memory cell to a second value of the binary resistance values; reading the second value of the binary resistance values, which is defined as a second resistance value; comparing the second resistance value with the first resistance value, and determining data originally stored in the selected memory cell based on the comparison result; and performing a second write operation on the selected memory cell using second write pulses having a same polarity as a polarity of the first write pulses to change the second resistance value of the selected memory cell to the first resistance value.