Circuit Elements With Memory: Memristors, Memcapacitors, and Meminductors

Abstract

Abstract-We extend the notion of memristive systems to capacitive and inductive elements, namely capacitors and inductors whose properties depend on the state and history of the system. All these elements show pinched hysteretic loops in the two constitutive variables that define them: current-voltage for the memristor, charge-voltage for the memcapacitor, and current-flux for the meminductor. We argue that these devices are common at the nanoscale where the dynamical properties of electrons and ions are likely to depend on the history of the system, at least within certain time scales. These elements and their combination in circuits open up new functionalities in electronics and they are likely to find applications in neuromorphic devices to simulate learning, adaptive and spontaneous behavior.

Anatomy of a Nanoscale Conduction Channel Reveals the Mechanism of a High‐Performance Memristor

“…[1][2][3] Accordingly, the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS) has recently completed an assessment of eight memory technologies among the emerging research devices (ERDs) and recommended that Redox RAM [4][5][6][7] and STT-MRAM [ 8 , 9 ] (spin-transfer torque magnetic RAM) receive additional focus in research and development. [ 1 ] Redox RAM is one type of memristor [10][11][12][13][14][15] that has shown more than adequate scalability, non-volatility, multiplestate operation, 3D stackability, and complementary metaloxide semiconductor (CMOS) compatibility. Moreover, these devices have also exhibited signifi cant potential in other applications, such as stateful logic operations, [ 40 ] neuromorphic computing, [ 27 , 41 ] and CMOS/memristor hybrid circuits for confi guration bits and signal routing.…”

Fast Persistent Heap Based on Non-Volatile Memory

“…More importantly, they can hold data across system reboot naturally. Recent memory technologies include Phase Change Memory (PCM) [7], spin-torquetransfer RAM (STT-RAM) [8], and meristors [9]. Among them, Phase Change Memory (PCM) is the most developed and promising device that may act as an alternative to DRAM in the future.…”

Second order mem‐circuits

“…With the use of these additional variables we may accommodate e.g. the charge-controlled memcapacitors or flux-controlled meminductors of [5] and their fully nonlinear counterparts described later. Second order devices are the focus of this paper and for this reason we extract and emphasize this particular case from the general framework of Section 2.…”

“…In this regard, higher order devices are those which do not admit a description in terms of the fundamental circuit variables q, p, i, v [14]. Devices such as charge-controlled memcapacitors and flux-controlled meminductors [5], or the a-p devices proposed in [3], involve new variables, namely the integral variables a = fq = ffi or p = f<p = ffv, which are located beyond the classical limits of circuit theory (throughout the document we use the notation y = J x and z = JJx as abbreviations for y(t) = J_ Qo x(s)ds, z{t) = J_ QO (Jl QO x(r)dr)ds). The first purpose of the present paper is to extend the results discussed in [14] to accommodate these and other related devices in a systematic framework.…”