| 摘要 |
An apparatus for and a method of addressing data storage elements (16) employs an ionizable gas to address the storage elements for storing data in and reading data out of them. The storage elements are defined by the overlapping areas of multiple column electrode (18) extending in a common direction on a first substrate (48) and multiple channels (20) extending in a common direction on a second substrate (54). A layer of dielectric material (46) separates the first and the second substrates, which are positioned face-to-face and spaced-apart with the direction of the channels transverse to that of the column electrodes. Each of the channels is filled with an ionizable gas and includes a reference potential electrode and a row electrode electrically isolated from each other. The ionizable gas functions as an electrical switch that changes between a conducting or plasma state and a nonconducting or nonionized state in response to an applied signal, and functions to either store data in or read data out of the storage elements.
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