Patent ID: 6870757

Claim:
A thin film magnetic memory device comprising: a memory array having a matrix of a plurality of magnetic memory cells each having a magnetic element magnetized in a direction corresponding to data stored; a plurality of write select lines provided for memory cell rows, respectively; a plurality of data lines provided for memory cell columns, respectively; a write control circuit driven by a result of a column selection to selectively pass a current on a data line corresponding to a selected magnetic memory cell, said current having a direction corresponding to write data; and a row select circuit driven by a result of a row selection for controlling selectively supplying a current to said plurality of write select lines, said row select circuit supplying a data writing current to the write select line corresponding to a selected row and a magnetic field canceling current to the write select line corresponding to a row adjacent to said selected row, said magnetic field canceling current being smaller than said data writing current, said magnetic field canceling current being directed in a direction opposite to that of said data writing current flowing on said write select line corresponding to said selected row, in each said write select line said data writing current when said corresponding memory cell row is selected and said magnetic field canceling current when said adjacent row is selected being supplied in a single direction.