Patent ID: 8279657

Claim:
A variable resistance nonvolatile memory element comprising: a first electrode; a second electrode; and a variable resistance layer which is placed between said first electrode and said second electrode, and whose resistance state reversibly changes between a high resistance state and a low resistance state based on a polarity of a voltage applied between said first electrode and said second electrode, wherein said nonvolatile memory element has a characteristic of changing into a state where the resistance state can change after an initial breakdown is performed when said nonvolatile memory element is in an initial state, the initial breakdown being for applying, to said nonvolatile memory element, a breakdown voltage with a load element connected to said nonvolatile memory element, and the initial state being a state where said nonvolatile memory element has a resistance value higher than a resistance value of said nonvolatile memory element of which said variable resistance layer is in the high resistance state, said variable resistance layer has a stacked structure of at least a first oxide layer and a second oxide layer, said first oxide layer including an oxide of a first transition metal, and said second oxide layer including an oxide of a second transition metal which is different from said first transition metal, and a degree of oxygen deficiency of said first oxide layer is greater than a degree of oxygen deficiency of said second oxide layer, a standard electrode potential of said second transition metal is lower than a standard electrode potential of said first transition metal, and at least one of the following conditions is satisfied: (1) a dielectric constant of said second oxide layer is larger than a dielectric constant of said first oxide layer; and (2) a band gap of said second oxide layer is smaller than a band gap of said first oxide layer.