294 research outputs found
Filamentary Switching: Synaptic Plasticity through Device Volatility
Replicating the computational functionalities and performances of the brain
remains one of the biggest challenges for the future of information and
communication technologies. Such an ambitious goal requires research efforts
from the architecture level to the basic device level (i.e., investigating the
opportunities offered by emerging nanotechnologies to build such systems).
Nanodevices, or, more precisely, memory or memristive devices, have been
proposed for the implementation of synaptic functions, offering the required
features and integration in a single component. In this paper, we demonstrate
that the basic physics involved in the filamentary switching of electrochemical
metallization cells can reproduce important biological synaptic functions that
are key mechanisms for information processing and storage. The transition from
short- to long-term plasticity has been reported as a direct consequence of
filament growth (i.e., increased conductance) in filamentary memory devices. In
this paper, we show that a more complex filament shape, such as dendritic paths
of variable density and width, can permit the short- and long-term processes to
be controlled independently. Our solid-state device is strongly analogous to
biological synapses, as indicated by the interpretation of the results from the
framework of a phenomenological model developed for biological synapses. We
describe a single memristive element containing a rich panel of features, which
will be of benefit to future neuromorphic hardware systems
The Fourth Element: Characteristics, Modelling, and Electromagnetic Theory of the Memristor
In 2008, researchers at HP Labs published a paper in {\it Nature} reporting
the realisation of a new basic circuit element that completes the missing link
between charge and flux-linkage, which was postulated by Leon Chua in 1971. The
HP memristor is based on a nanometer scale TiO thin-film, containing a
doped region and an undoped region. Further to proposed applications of
memristors in artificial biological systems and nonvolatile RAM (NVRAM), they
also enable reconfigurable nanoelectronics. Moreover, memristors provide new
paradigms in application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) and field
programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). A significant reduction in area with an
unprecedented memory capacity and device density are the potential advantages
of memristors for Integrated Circuits (ICs). This work reviews the memristor
and provides mathematical and SPICE models for memristors. Insight into the
memristor device is given via recalling the quasi-static expansion of Maxwell's
equations. We also review Chua's arguments based on electromagnetic theory.Comment: 28 pages, 14 figures, Accepted as a regular paper - the Proceedings
of Royal Society
High speed chalcogenide glass electrochemical metallization cells with various active metals
We fabricated electrochemical metallization (ECM) cells using a GaLaSO solid electrolyte, a InSnO inactive electrode and active electrodes consisting of various metals (Cu, Ag, Fe, Cu, Mo, Al). Devices with Ag and Cu active metals showed consistent and repeatable resistive switching behaviour, and had a retention of 3 and >43 days, respectively; both had switching speeds of < 5 ns. Devices with Cr and Fe active metals displayed incomplete or intermittent resistive switching, and devices with Mo and Al active electrodes displayed no resistive switching ability. Deeper penetration of the active metal into the GaLaSO layer resulted in greater resistive switching ability of the cell. The off-state resistivity was greater for more reactive active metals which may be due to a thicker intermediate layer
Memristors: a short review on fundamentals, structures, materials and applications
The paper contains a short literature review on the subject of special type of thin film structures with resistive-switching memory effect. In the literature, such structures are commonly labeled as "memristors". The word "memristor" originates from two words: "memory" and "resistor". For the first time, the memristor was theoretically described in 1971 by Leon Chua as the 4th fundamental passive electronics element with a non-linear current-voltage behavior. The reported area of potential usage of memristor is enormous. It is predicted that the memristor could find application, for example in the domain of nonvolatile random access memory, flash memory, neuromorphic systems and so forth. However, in spite of the fact that plenty of papers have been published in the subject literature to date, the memristor still behaves as a "mysterious" electronic element. It seems that, one of the important reasons that such structures are not yet in practical use, is unsufficient knowledge of physical phenomena determining occurrence of the switching effect. The present paper contains a literature review of available descriptions of theoretical basis of the memristor structures, used materials, structure configurations and discussion about future prospects and limitations
Ion beam effect on Ge-Se chalcogenide glass films: Non-volatile memory array formation, structural changes and device performance
The conductive bridge non-volatile memory technology is an emerging way to
replace traditional charge based memory devices for future neural networks and
configurable logic applications. An array of the memory devices that fulfills
logic operations must be developed for implementing such architectures. A
scheme to fabricate these arrays, using ion bombardment through a mask, has
been suggested and advanced by us. Performance of the memory devices is
studied, based on the formation of vias and damage accumulation due to the
interactions of Ar+ ions with GexSe1-x (x=0.2, 0.3 and 0.4) chalcogenide
glasses as a function of the ion energy and dose dependence. Blanket films and
devices were created to study the structural changes, surface roughness, and
device performance. Raman Spectroscopy, Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Energy
Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDS) and electrical measurements expound the Ar+
ions behavior on thin films of GexSe1-x system. Raman studies show that there
is a decrease in area ratio between edge-shared to corner-shared structural
units, revealing occurrence of structural reorganization within the system as a
result of ion/film interaction. AFM results demonstrate a tendency in surface
roughness improvement with increased Ge concentration, after ion bombardment.
EDS results reveal a compositional change in the vias, with a clear tendency of
greater interaction between ions and the Ge atoms, as evidenced by greater
compositional changes in the Ge rich films
- …