Patent ID: 6972238

Claim:
A method for controlling the resistance properties in a memory material, the method comprising: forming manganite; annealing the manganite in an oxygen atmosphere; controlling the oxygen content in the manganite in response to the annealing; controlling resistance through the manganite in response to the oxygen content; wherein forming manganite includes forming manganite from a material selected from the group including perovskite-type manganese oxides with the general formula RE 1-x AE x MnO y , where RE is a rare earth ion and AE is an alkaline-earth ion, with x in the range between 0.1 and 0.5; and, wherein controlling the oxygen content in the manganite in response to the annealing includes forming an oxygen-rich RE 1-x AE x MnO y region where y is greater than 3, and an oxygen-deficient RE 1-x AE x MnO y region where y is less than 3.