Seminar Report 2016

Memristor

Contents
Chapter 1:INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................ 1
Chapter 2:FUNDAMENTAL CIRCUIT COMPONENTS ........................................................ 2
2.1 Resistor .................................................................................................................................. 2
2.1 Capacitor ............................................................................................................................... 3
2.3 Inductor ................................................................................................................................. 5
2.4 The Missing Link .................................................................................................................. 7
Chapter 3:THE 4TH NEW FUNDAMENTAL ELEMENT: MEMRISTOR .......................... 9
3.1 Need For Memristor ............................................................................................................ 10
3.2 Memristor: Theory And Properties ..................................................................................... 11
3.3 Chuas. Theory .................................................................................................................... 11
3.4 Current VS. Voltage Characteristics ................................................................................... 12
3.5 Basic Memristor Fingerprint ............................................................................................... 13
3.6 Hysteresis Model ................................................................................................................. 14
3.7 The Coupled Variable-Resistor Model For A Memristor ................................................... 15
3.8 Delay In Discovery Of Memristor ...................................................................................... 17
3.9 Working Of A Memristor.................................................................................................... 17
3.10 Analogous System ............................................................................................................. 19
Chapter 4:TYPES OF MEMRISTOR........................................................................................ 20
4.1 Molecular and Ionic Thin Film Memristive Systems ......................................................... 20
4.2 Spin Based and Magnetic Memristive Systems .................................................................. 21
4.3 Three-terminal memristors .................................................................................................. 22
Chapter 5:POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS .................................................................................. 23
5.1 Nano-Scale Nature .............................................................................................................. 23
5.2 Replacement of Flash Memory ........................................................................................... 23
5.3 Replacement of DRAM ....................................................................................................... 23
5.4 Brain-Like Systems ............................................................................................................. 24
Chapter 6:CONCLUSION .......................................................................................................... 25
REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................ 26

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Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION
Generally when most people think about electronics, they may initially think of products such as
cell phones, radios, laptop computers, etc. others, having some engineering background, may think
of resistors, capacitors, etc. which are the basic components necessary for electronics to function.
Such basic components are fairly limited in number and each having their own characteristic function.

Memristor theory was formulated and named by Leon Chua in a 1971 paper. Chua
strongly believed that a fourth device existed to provide conceptual symmetry with the resistor,
inductor, and capacitor. This symmetry follows from the description of basic passive circuit elements as defined by a relation between two of the four fundamental circuit variables. A device
linking charge and flux (defined as time integrals of current and voltage), which would be the
Memristor, was still hypothetical at the time. However, it would not be until thirty-seven years
later, on April 30, 2008, that a team at HP Labs led by the scientist R. Stanley Williams would
announce the discovery of a switching Memristor. Based on a thin film of titanium dioxide, it has
been presented as an approximately ideal device.

The reason that the Memristor is radically different from the other fundamental circuit
elements is that, unlike them, it carries a memory of its past. When you turn off the voltage to the
circuit, the Memristor still remembers how much was applied before and for how long. That's an
effect that can't be duplicated by any circuit combination of resistors, capacitors and inductors,
which is why the Memristor qualifies as a fundamental circuit element.

The arrangement of these few fundamental circuit components form the basis of almost all
of the electronic devices we use in our everyday life. Thus the discovery of a brand new fundamental circuit element is something not to be taken lightly and has the potential to open the door
to a brand new type of electronics. HP already has plans to implement Memristors in a new type
of non-volatile memory which could eventually replace flash and other memory systems.
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Chapter 2

FUNDAMENTAL CIRCUIT COMPONENTS

2.1 Resistor

Figure 2.1 Resistor

A resistor is a two-terminal electronic component that produces a voltage across its terminals that
is proportional to the electric current through it in accordance with Ohm's law which states
Voltage (V) across a resistor is proportional to the current (I) through it where the constant of
proportionality is the resistance (R)
V = IR

Electronic symbol

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Resistors are elements of electrical networks and electronic circuits and are ubiquitous in
most electronic equipment. Practical resistors can be made of various compounds and films, as
well as resistance wire (wire made of a high-resistivity alloy, such as nickel/chrome).
The primary characteristics of a resistor are the resistance, the tolerance, maximum
working voltage and the power rating. Other characteristics include temperature coefficient,
noise, and inductance. Less well-known is critical resistance, the value below which power dissipation limits the maximum permitted current flow, and above which the limit is applied voltage.
Critical resistance depends upon the materials constituting the resistor as well as its physical dimensions; it's determined by design.
Resistors can be integrated into hybrid and printed circuits, as well as integrated circuits.
Size and position of leads (or terminals) are relevant to equipment designers, resistors must be
physically large enough not to overheat when dissipating their power.

2.1 Capacitor

Figure 2.2 Capacitor

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A capacitor or condenser is a passive electronic component consisting of a pair of conductors

separated by a dielectric. When a voltage potential difference exists between the conductors, an
electric field is present in the dielectric. This field stores energy and produces a mechanical force
between the plates. The effect is greatest between wide, flat, parallel, narrowly separated conductors.
An ideal capacitor is characterized by a single constant value, capacitance, which is measured in farads. This is the ratio of the electric charge on each conductor to the potential difference
between them. In practice, the dielectric between the plates passes a small amount of leakage current. The conductors and leads introduce an equivalent series resistance and the dielectric has an
electric field strength limit resulting in a breakdown voltage.

Capacitors are widely used in electronic circuits to block the flow of direct current while
allowing alternating current to pass, to filter out interference, to smooth the output of power supplies and for many other purposes. They are used in resonant circuits in radio frequency equipment
to select particular frequencies from a signal with many frequencies.

ELECTRONIC SYMBOL

CURRENT-VOLTAGE RELATION
The current i (t) through a component in an electric circuit is defined as the rate of change of the
charge q (t ) that has passed through it. Physical charges cannot pass through the dielectric layer
of a capacitor, but rather build up in equal and opposite quantities on the electrodes: as each electron accumulates on the negative plate, one leaves the positive plate. Thus the accumulated charge
on the electrodes is equal to the integral of the current, as well as being proportional to the voltage
(as discussed above). As with any anti-derivative, a constant of integration is added to represent
the initial voltage v (t0).

This is the integral form of the capacitor equation,

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()
1
() = (
) = ( ) () + (0)

0
Taking the derivative of this, and multiplying by C, yields the derivative form,

()
()
() =
=

The dual of the capacitor is the inductor, which stores energy in the magnetic field rather
than the electric field. Its current-voltage relation is obtained by exchanging current and voltage in
the capacitor equations, and replacing C with the inductance L.

2.3 Inductor:

Figure 2.3 Inductor

An inductor or a reactor is a passive electrical component that can store energy in a magnetic
field created by the electric current passing through it. An inductor's ability to store magnetic energy is measured by its inductance, in units of henries. Typically an inductor is a conducting wire
shaped as a coil, the loops helping to create a strong magnetic field inside the coil due to Faraday's
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law of induction. Inductors are one of the basic electronic components used in electronics where
current and voltage change with time, due to the ability of inductors to delay and reshape alternating currents Inductance (L) (measured in henries) is an effect resulting from the magnetic field
that forms around a current-carrying conductor that tends to resist changes in the current. Electric
current through the conductor creates a magnetic flux proportional to the current. A change in this
current creates a change in magnetic flux that, in turn, by Faraday's law generates an electromotive
force (EMF) that acts to oppose this change in current. Inductance is a measure of the amount of
EMF generated for a unit change in current. For example, an inductor with an inductance of 1
henry produces an EMF of 1 volt when the current through the inductor changes at the rate of 1
ampere per second. The number of loops, the size of each loop and the material it is wrapped
around all affect the inductance.

An inductor opposes changes in current. An ideal inductor would offer no resistance to a

constant direct current; however, only superconducting inductors have truly zero electrical resistance.
In general, the relationship between the time-varying voltage v(t) across an inductor with
inductance L and the time-varying current i(t) passing through it is described by the differential
equation:

() =

()

Inductors are used extensively in analog circuits and signal processing. Inductors in conjunction with capacitors and other components form tuned circuits which can emphasize or filter
out specific signal frequencies. Applications range from the use of large inductors in power supplies, which in conjunction with filter capacitors remove residual hums known as the Mains hum
or other fluctuations from the direct current output, to the small inductance of the ferrite bead or
torus installed around a cable to prevent radio frequency interference from being transmitted down
the wire. Smaller inductor/capacitor combinations provide tuned circuits used in radio reception
and broadcasting.

Two (or more) inductors which have coupled magnetic flux form a transformer, which is a
fundamental component of every electric utility power grid. The efficiency of a transformer may
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decrease as the frequency increases due to eddy currents in the core material and skin effect on the
windings. Size of the core can be decreased at higher frequencies and, for this reason, aircraft use
400 hertz alternating current rather than the usual 50 or 60 hertz, allowing a great saving in weight
from the use of smaller transformers.

An inductor is used as the energy storage device in some switched-mode power supplies.
The inductor is energized for a specific fraction of the regulator's switching frequency, and deenergized for the remainder of the cycle. This energy transfer ratio determines the input-voltage to
output voltage ratio. This XL is used in complement with an active semiconductor device to maintain very accurate voltage control.
Inductors are also employed in electrical transmission systems, where they are used to depress
voltages from lightning strikes and to limit switching currents and fault current. In this field, they
are more commonly referred to as reactors.

2.4 The Missing Link:

There are six different mathematical relations connecting pairs of four fundamental circuit Variables viz. current I, voltage v, charge q and magnetic flux . One of these relation (the charge
is time integral of current) is determined from the definition of two of the variables and another
(the flux is the time integral of the electromotive force or voltage) is determined from Faradays
law of induction. Thus there should be four basic circuit elements described by the remaining
relation between the variables.

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The relation between these fundamental elements can be shown as:

Figure 2.4 Relationship between Fundamental elements

The relation between the charge and the flux was unknown, and so the device which describes
it. This led to the discovery of the fourth fundamental element which describes the above missing relation between Charge and Flux.

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Chapter 3

THE 4TH NEW FUNDAMENTAL ELEMENT: MEMRISTOR

Memristor is one of four basic electrical circuit components, joining the resistor, capacitor and
inductor. The Memristor, short for memory resistor was first theorized by student Leon Chua
in the early 1970s. He developed mathematical equations to represent the Memristor, which Chua
believed would balance the functions of the other three types of circuit elements. Since, there is no
proof of any practical device which shows memristance, according to Chuas paper.
In the beginning of 2006, the group of researchers headed by R. Stanley Williams at HP
labs, developed a simple model of binary switch based on the coupled movement of both charge
dopants and electrons in the semiconductor and saw that the defining equations for this switch
were identical to Chuas mathematical definitions of memristor and they were able to write down
a defining equation for memristance of this device in terms of its physical and geometric properties.

MEMRISTOR
Figure 3.1 Cross Bar Array Of Memristor

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3.1 Need For Memristor

The known three fundamental circuit elements as resistor, capacitor and inductor relates four fundamental circuit variables as electric current, voltage, charge and magnetic flux. In that we were
missing one element to relate charge to magnetic flux. That is where the need for the fourth
fundamental element comes in. This element has been named as MEMRISTOR.

Figure 3.2 Relation between all four Fundamental elements of electronics

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3.2 Memristor: Theory And Properties

3.2.1 Definition of Memristor

The Memristor is formally defined as a two-terminal element in which the magnetic flux m between the terminals is a function of the amount of electric charge q that has passed through the
device.

3.2.2 Electronic Symbol

Chua defined the element as a resistor whose resistance level was based on the amount of charge
that had passed through the Memristor

3.2.3 MEMRISTANCE
Memristance is a property of an electronic component to retain its resistance level even after power
had been shut down or lets it remember (or recall) the last resistance it had before being shut off.

3.3 Chuas. Theory

Each Memristor is characterized by its memristance function describing the charge dependent rate
of change of flux with charge.

() =

(Eq. 3.1)

As we know from, Faraday's law of induction that magnetic flux is simply the time integral of
voltage and charge is the time integral of current, we may write the more convenient

() =

/
/

.. (Eq. 3.2)

It can be inferred from this that memristance is simply charge-dependent resistance

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i.e.

() = (()) () (Eq. 3.3)

This equation reveals that memristance defines a linear relationship between current and voltage, as long as charge does not vary. Of course, nonzero current implies instantaneously varying
charge. Alternating current, however, may reveal the linear dependence in circuit operation by
inducing a measurable voltage without net charge movement as long as the maximum change in q
does not cause much change in M.

3.4 Current VS. Voltage Characteristics

This new circuit element shares many of the properties of resistors and shares the same unit of
measurement (ohms). However, in contrast to ordinary resistors, in which the resistance is permanently fixed, memristance may be programmed or switched to different resistance states based on
the history of the voltage applied to the memristance material. This phenomena can be understood
graphically in terms of the relationship between the current flowing through a Memristor and the
voltage applied across the Memristor.

In ordinary resistors there is a linear relationship between current and voltage so that a graph
comparing current and voltage results in a straight line. However, for Memristors a similar graph
is a little more complicated. It illustrates the current vs. voltage behavior of memristance.

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Figure 3.3 Current vs. Voltage curve demonstrating hysteretic effects of memristance .

In contrast to the straight line expected from most resistors the behavior of a Memristor
appear closer to that found in hysteresis curves associated with magnetic materials. As observed
above that two straight line segments are formed within the curve. These two straight line curves
may be interpreted as two distinct resistance states with the remainder of the curve as transition
regions between these two states.

3.5 Basic Memristor Fingerprint

There are three characteristic fingerprints, memristors should exhibit:
The device must exhibit a pinched hysteresis loop in the voltagecurrent plane for any bipolar
periodic signal excitation as Chua said If it is pinched, it is a memristor.
The pinched hysteresis lobe area should decrease monotonically as the excitation frequency increases.
The pinched hysteresis loop should shrink to a single-valued function when the frequency tends
to infinity.

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3.6 Hysteresis Model

Hysteresis model illustrates an idealized resistance behavior demonstrated in accordance with
above current voltage characteristic wherein the linear regions correspond to a relatively high resistance (RH) and low resistance (RL) and the transition regions are represented by straight lines.

Figure 3.4 Idealized hysteresis model of resistance vs. voltage for memristance switch.

Thus for voltages within a threshold region (-VL2<V<VL1 in Fig. 4) either a high or low
resistance exists for the Memristor. For a voltage above threshold VL1 the resistance switches
from a high to a low level and for a voltage of opposite polarity above threshold VL2 the resistance
switches back to a high resistance.

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3.7 The Coupled Variable-Resistor Model For A Memristor

Figure 3.5 Memristor model and symbol

The Diagram with a simplified equivalent circuit. V, voltmeter; A, ammeter.

Applied voltage and resulting current as a function of time t for a typical

Memristor.

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The equation given below describes the memristance of any device as a function of charge:

(Eq. 3.4)
Where
M(q) = Memristance of a device as a function of charge
Roff = High resistance state
Ron = Low resistance state

v = Mobility of charge
q(t) = Charge flowing through device at any time t
D = Thickness of semiconductor film sandwiched between two metal contacts.

For any material, this term is 1,000,000 times larger in absolute values at nanometer scale then is
at micrometer scale because of factor 1/D2 and memristance is correspondingly more significant.
So it was not possible to get the feel of memristance at millimeter scale that is why it took 30 years
to discover this Nano scale component.

Figure 3.6 A Memristor at Nano-scale

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3.8 Delay In Discovery Of Memristor

Memristor, was not been seen before because the effect depends on atomic-scale movements, it
only popped up on the Nano scale of Williams devices. Information can be written into the material as the resistance state of the memristor in a few nanoseconds using few Pico joules of energy
as good as anything needs to be

3.9 Working Of A Memristor

Semiconductors are doped to make them either p-type or n-type. For example, if silicon is doped
with arsenic, it become n-type. However, when we apply an electric field to piece of n-type silicon,
the ionized arsenics atoms sitting inside the silicon lattice will not move. We do not want them to
move, in any case. Pure titanium dioxide (TiO2), which is also a semiconductor, has high resistance, just as in the case of intrinsic silicon, and it can also be doped to make it conducting. If
an oxygen atom, which is negatively charged, is removed from its substantial site in TiO 2, a positively charged oxygen vacancy (V0+) is created, which act as a donor of electrons. These positively
charged oxygen vacancies (V0+) can be in the direction of current applying electric field. Taking
advantage of this ionic transport, a sandwich of thin conducting and non-conducting layers of TiO2
was used to release memristor.

Figure 3.7 Conduction Mechanism in Memristor

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(a) Broader electronic barrier when a negative potential is applied to electrode A

(b) Thin electronic barrier when a positive potential is applied to electrode A
Consider, we have two thin layers of TiO2, one highly conducting layer with lots of oxygen
vacancies (V0+ ) and the other layer un-doped, which is highly resistive. Suppose that good Ohmic
contact are formed using platinum electrodes on either side of sandwich of TiO2 , the electronic
barrier between the un-doped TiO2 and the metal looks broader. The situation remains the same,
even when a negative potential V applied to electrode A, because the positively charged oxygen
vacancies (V0+) are attracted towards electrode A and the length of un-doped region increases.
Under these conditions the electronics barrier at the un-doped TiO2 and the metal is still too wide
and it will be difficult for the electrons to cross over the barrier.
However, when a positive potential is applied at electrode A the positively charged oxygen
vacancies are repelled and moved into the un-doped TiO2. This ionic movement towards electrode
B reduces the length of un-doped region. When more positively charged oxygen vacancies(V0+)
reach the TiO2 metal interface, the potential barrier for the electrons become very narrow, as
shown, making tunneling through the barrier a real possibility. This leads to a large current flow,
making the device turn ON. In this case, the positively charged oxygen vacancies (V0+) are present
across the length of device. When the polarity of the applied voltage is reversed, the oxygen vacancies can be pushed back into their original place on the doped side, restoring the broader electronic barrier at TiO2 metal interface. This forces the device to turn OFF due to an increase in the
resistance of the device and reduce possibility for carrier tunneling
The specialty of Memristor is not just that it can be turned OFF or ON, but, that it can
actually remember the previous state. This is because when the applied bias is removed, the
positively charged Ti ions (which are actually the oxygen deficient sites) do not move anymore,
making the boundary between the doped and un-doped layers TiO2 immobile. When we next apply
a bias (positive or negative) to the device, it starts from where it was left. Unlike in the case of
typical semiconductors, such as silicon in which only mobile carrier moves, in the case of memristor both the ionic and the electron movement, into the un-doped TiO2 and out of un-doped TiO2
are responsible for the hysteresis in its current-voltage characteristics.

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3.10 Analogous System

In William switches, the upper resistor was made of pure semiconductor, and the lower of the
oxygen-deficient material metal. Applying a voltage to the device pushes charged bubbles up from
the metal, radically reducing the semiconductors resistance and making it into a full-fledged conductor. A voltage applied in the other direction starts the merry-go-round revolving the other way:
the bubbles drain back into the lower layer, and the upper layer reverts to a high resistance, semiconducting state.
The crucial thing is that, every time when the voltage is switched off, the merry-go-round
stops and the resistance is frozen. When the voltage is switched on again, the system remembers
where it was, waking up in the same resistance state.
The analogous system of memory resistor or memristor is perfectly explained, assuming
that memristor behaves like a pipe whose diameter varies according to the amount and direction of current passing through it.

Figure 3.8 A Resistor with Memory behaves like a pipe

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Chapter 4

TYPES OF MEMRISTOR
There are quite a few vectors of inquiry researching various types of memristors. The material
implementation of a memristor is important to how they behave in a memristive system. Its important to understand the difference between a memristor, and a memristive system, because the
specific type of memristor can highlight different strengths and weaknesses, and they can be used
in a memristive system for different applications of scale or purpose. There are currently no
memristor datasheets available, as much of the material implementations are experimental and in
development. In general, though, for any material, Hysteresis, an accelerating rate of change of a
property as objects move from one state to another, is an indicator of memristive properties.
Currently Hewlett Packards version of the Titanium Dioxide substrate memristor is the most generally pursued type of memristor, but the list of different memristor types below shows there are a
wide variety of systems that exhibit memristive behavior, and more are being discovered as industries begin to build out their research, prototyping, and manufacturing infrastructures.

4.1 Molecular and Ionic Thin Film Memristive Systems

These type of memristors primarily rely on different material properties of thin film atomic lattices that exhibit hysteresis under the application of charge.
4.1.1 Titanium dioxide memristors
The Titanium Dioxide memristor first developed at HP Labs is based on a two-layer thin sandwich of titanium dioxide films, composed of symmetrical lattices of titanium and oxygen atoms.
(Titanium dioxide changes its resistance in the presence of oxygen, which is why its used in oxygen sensors.) The motion of atoms in the films are tied to the movement of electrons in the material, which allows a state change in the atomic structure of the memristor. The bottom layer acts
as an insulator, and the top film layer acts as a conductor via oxygen vacancies in the titanium
dioxide. The oxygen vacancies in the top layer are moved to the bottom layer, changing the resistance, and maintaining the state. To access the memristive properties, crossbars of nanowires
are placed above and below the top and bottom layers, so that a charge can be passed through.

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`
4.1.2 Polymeric (ionic) Memristors
Utilizing the properties of various solid-state ionics, one component of the material structure, the
cationic or anionic, is free to move throughout the structure as a charge carrier. Polymeric memristors explore dynamic doping of polymer and inorganic dielectric-type material to attempt and provoke hysteresis type behaviors. Usually, a single passive layer between an electrode and an active
thin film attempt to exaggerate the extraction of ions from the electrode. The terms polymeric and
ionic are often used somewhat loosely and generically.
4.1.3. Manganite Memristive Systems
A substrate of bilayer oxide films based on manganite, as opposed to titanium dioxide, were exhibited as describing memristive properties at the University of Houston in 2001.

4.2 Spin Based and Magnetic Memristive Systems

Spin-based memristive systems, as opposed to molecular and ionic nanostructure based systems,
rely on the property of degree of freedom in electron spin. In these types of system, electron spin
polarization is altered, usually through the movement of a magnetic domain wall separating polarities, allowing for hysteresis like behaviors to occur.
4.2.1 Spintronic Memristors
A type of magnetic memristor under development by several labs, notably Seagate, is called a
spintronic memristor. In same way that the titanium dioxide memristor changes state by altering
oxygen vacancies between two separate layers, changing a spintronic memristors resistance state
uses magnetization to alter the spin direction of electrons in two different sections of a device.
Two sections of different electron spin directions are kept separate based on a moving wall,
controlled by magnetization, and the relation of the wall dividing the electron spins is what controls
the devices overall resistance state.
4.2.2 Spin Torque Transfer (STT) MRAM
Since the 1990s, the development of MRAM has shown, in certain cases, memristive properties.
The configuration known as a spin valve, the simplest structure for a MRAM bit, allows for state
change. The resistance in a memristive effective spin-torque transfer is controlled by a spin torque
induced by a current flowing through a magnetic junction, and is dependent on the difference in
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spin orientation between the two sides of the junction. Depending on the material used to construct
some MRAM bits, these spin torque constructions can exhibit both ionic and magnetic properties,
and are sometimes referred to as second-order memristive systems.

4.3 Three-terminal memristors

As an early outlier from the 1960s, the advanced technology of Electroplating, was used to demonstrate the viability of a non-solid state, three terminal memristor by Bernard Widrow at Stanford.
The conductance was described as being controlled by the time integral of current. Interesting to
note here is the research was part of a larger research project into the mathematics of early neural
network modeling. The Adaptive Linear Element of Widrow (and his then-student Ted Hoff, of
Intel fame) is a single layer neural network based on the McCulloch-Pitts neuron, and shows that
even in the early days, the modeling of memristive systems was closely related to neuronal learning
algorithms.

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Chapter 5

POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS
5.1 Nano-Scale Nature
The main objective in the electronic chip design is to move computing beyond the physical and
fiscal limits of conventional silicon chips. For decades, increases in chip performance have come
about largely by putting more and more transistors on a circuit. Higher densities, however, increase
the problems of heat generation and defects and affect the basic physics of the devices.
Instead of increasing the number of transistors on a circuit, we could create a hybrid circuit with
fewer transistors but with the addition of Memristors which could add functionality. Alternately,
Memristor technologies could enable more energy-efficient high-density circuits.
Memristor, was not been seen before because the effect depends on atomic-scale movements, it
only popped up on the Nano scale of Williams devices. Information can be written into the material as the resistance state of the memristor in a few nanoseconds using few Pico joules of energy
as good as anything needs to be. And once written memory stays written even when the power
is shut.

5.2 Replacement of Flash Memory

The important potential use of memristor is as a powerful replacement for flash memory- the
kind used in applications that require quick writing and rewriting capabilities, such as in cameras
and USB memory sticks. Like flash memory, memristive memory can only be written 10,000 times
or so before the constant atomic movements within the device cause it to break down. It is possible
to improve the durability of memristors.

5.3 Replacement of DRAM

Computers using conventional D-RAM lack the ability to retain information once they are turned
off. When power is restored to a D-RAM-based computer, a slow, energy-consuming "boot-up"
process is necessary to retrieve data stored on a magnetic disk required to run the system. The
reason computers have to be rebooted every time they are turned on is that their logic circuits are
incapable of holding their bits after the power is shut off. But because a Memristor can remember
voltages, a Memristor-driven computer would arguably never need a reboot.
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You could leave all your Word files and spreadsheets open, turn off your computer, and go get a
cup of coffee or go on vacation for two weeks.

5.4 Brain-Like Systems

As for the human brain-like characteristics, Memristor technology could one day lead to computer
systems that can remember and associate patterns in a way similar to how people do.This could be
used to substantially improve facial recognition technology or to provide more complex biometric
recognition systems that could more effectively restrict access to personal information. These same
pattern-matching capabilities could enable appliances that learn from experience and computers
that can make decisions.
It is observed that the complex electrical response of synapses to the ebb and flow of potassium and sodium ions across the membrane of each cell which allows the synapses to alter their
response according to the frequency and strength of the signals. It looked maddeningly similar to
the response a memristor would produce.

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Chapter 6

CONCLUSION
By redesigning certain types of circuits to include Memristors, it is possible to obtain the
same function with fewer components, making the circuit itself less expensive and significantly
decreasing its power consumption. In fact, it can be hoped to combine Memristors with traditional
circuit-design elements to produce a device that does computation. The Hewlett-Packard (HP)
group is looking at developing a memristor-based nonvolatile memory that could be 1000 times
faster than magnetic disks and use much less power.
As rightly said by Leon Chua and R. Stanley Williams (inventors of Memristor),
Memristors are so significant that it would be mandatory to re-write the existing Electronics Engineering textbooks.

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Memristor

REFERENCES:
Leon Chuas 1971 paper from IEEE transactions on Circuit Theory
R. Stanley Williamss IEEE spectrum paper How we found the Missing Memristor
(2008)
www.memristor.org

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Dept. of Electronics and Communication

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