Patent ID: 7499303

Claim:
A CAM cell array, comprising: an array of CAM cells, each of the CAM cells comprising a first cell, the first cell including a first non-volatile storage element coupled to at least one first data line and a match line, the first non-volatile storage element being one of a magnetic layer resistive element, a phase-change resistive element, and a ferroelectric capacitive element; a match line controller coupled to the match line for controlling a match voltage applied to the match line; a sense amp coupled to the at least first data line; and a data line controller coupled to the data lines for controlling data voltages applied to the data lines to provide appropriate currents through the first non-volatile storage element, wherein a write operation is performed by changing a state of the first non-volatile storage element by providing data to the at least one data line, wherein a read operation is performed by determining the state of the first non-volatile storage element through the at least one data line by sensing a current on the at least one first data line with the sense amp, wherein a comparison operation is performed by applying data to the at least one first data line and determining a match condition on the match line, and wherein each of the CAM cells arranged in a row may be simultaneously written to or read from.