Magnetic Crossbar Element
Original Publication Date: 1962-Oct-01
Included in the Prior Art Database: 2005-Mar-07
Publishing Venue
IBM
Related People
Abstract
Three saturable magnetic films in a sandwich configuration make up the element. Washer-shaped film 1, when unsaturated, couples signals between coils A and B. If even a small section of coupling film 1 is saturated, the closed flux path around the washer is blocked and coils A and B are decoupled.
Magnetic Crossbar Element
Three saturable magnetic films in a sandwich configuration make up the element. Washer-shaped film 1, when unsaturated, couples signals between coils A and B. If even a small section of coupling film 1 is saturated, the closed flux path around the washer is blocked and coils A and B are decoupled.
Bias film 2 and control film 3 each develop a magnetic field tending to saturate the adjacent portion of coupling film 1. When control films 2 and 3 are aligned similarly, their fields add to produce a resultant field of saturation value effectively decoupling coils A and B. When control films 2 and 3 are oppositely aligned, as shown by the broken arrow on film 3, their fields subtract to produce no appreciable effect upon the adjacent area of film 1 which thus couples coils A and B.
Bias film 2 is most effectively of permanently magnetizable material. The latter has a field strength sufficiently greater than that of control film 3 so that it does not change state as a result of the change of state of control film 3. This is most effectively an electromagnet.
Additional sets of control films such as 2' and 3' each can inhibit coupling of coils A and B through film 1. With more than one set of control films, the device operates as an Or. By choice of turns ratios, the signal coupled from A to B can be made to switch a magnet film of a succeeding device.
A feedback and delay coil such as C may be needed, if the device does not switch on the first...