Ovshinsky owned over 200 electronics patents and was described as a "[Thomas] Edison of our age". The electronics field of ovonics was named after him.
Ovshinsky introduced the idea of "glass transistors" in 1968, which paved the way for modern flat-screen monitors.
He and his first wife Iris set up a firm called Energy Conversion Devices, the 'BBC News' reported.
The firm specialises in manufacturing the nickel-metal hydride batteries he designed, which are still used in hybrid vehicles, and also produces large thin, flexible sheets of solar panelling also invented by Ovshinsky.
He had no formal education after high school and received various honorary degrees and awards. He claimed to have taught himself science by using the public libraries of Ohio where he grew up.
Ovshinsky died on Wednesday and is survived by his second wife Rosa, brother Herb, seven children and six grandchildren.