Patent ID: 8581305

Claim:
A semiconductor memory device, comprising: a dielectric film configured to store information depending on presence or absence of a conductive path therein; a plurality of electrodes provided to contact a first surface of the dielectric film; and a control circuit configured to execute write, erase, and read operations by applying certain voltages to the plurality of electrodes, the conductive path being able to be formed between two electrodes arbitrarily selected from the plurality of electrodes, the conductive path having a rectifying property of allowing a current to flow more easily in a first direction connecting arbitrary two electrodes than in a second direction opposite to the first direction, the largest possible number of the conductive paths that may be formed being larger than the number of the plurality of electrodes, and the control circuit being configured to execute a read operation for selecting one of the plurality of electrodes, applying a first read voltage to the selected one of the electrodes and a second read voltage higher than the first read voltage to the others of the electrodes such that a certain potential difference is applied between the selected one of the electrodes and the other ones of the electrodes, detecting whether a conductive path is formed between the selected one of the electrodes and the other ones of the electrodes, and repeating application of the first and second read voltages while changing the selected one of the electrodes in sequence.