Patent ID: 7743488

Claim:
A manufacturing method for a variable resistive element comprising a variable resistor comprising a variable resistor material provided between a first electrode comprising a first electrode material and a second electrode comprising a second electrode material, the electrical resistance of the variable resistor being variable between a low resistance value and a high resistance value by applying a voltage pulse between the first electrode and the second electrode, said method comprising: carrying out a reduction process on the variable resistor so that the electrical resistance of the variable resistor is increased; wherein carrying out the reduction process comprises carrying out a heat treatment at low temperatures never exceeding 350° C. in a reduction atmosphere including hydrogen, and carrying out the heat treatment comprises providing a material operating as a hydrogen catalyst, and the variable resistor comprises an oxide having a perovskite structure which is represented by any one of the following general formulas: Pr 1-X Ca X [Mn 1-Z M Z ]O 3 , wherein M is any element selected from Ta, Ti, Cu, Cr, Co, Fe, Ni and Ga, La 1-X AE X MnO 3 , wherein AE is any bivalent alkaline earth metal selected from Ca, Sr, Pb and Ba, RE 1-X Sr X MnO 3 , wherein RE is any trivalent rare earth element selected from Sm, La, Pr, Nd, Gd and Dy, La 1-X Co X [Mn 1-Z Co Z ]O 3 , Gd 1-X Ca X MnO 3 , and Nd 1-X Gd X MnO 3 , wherein 0<X<1, 0≦Z<1.