Patent ID: 6963893

Claim:
A method of addition in a modular arithmetic system, said method comprising the steps of: providing a first number; providing a second number; providing a volume of phase change material, said phase change material having a plurality of states, said states including: a reset state, a set state obtainable from said reset state by applying energy in an amount corresponding to the set energy of said reset state, said set state having lower resistance than said reset state, and one or more intermediate states having substantially the same resistance as said reset state, said one or more intermediate states being obtainable from said reset state by applying energy in an amount less than said set energy of said reset state; applying a first set of energy pulses to said phase change material, the number of applied energy pulses in said first set equaling said first number; and applying a second set of energy pulses to said phase change material, the number of applied energy pulses in said second set equaling said second number.