Feedback write scheme for memristive switching devices

In nanoscale memristive switching devices, the statistical distribution of resistance values and other relevant parameters for device operation often exhibits a lognormal distribution, causing large fluctuations of memristive analog state variables after each switching event, which may be problematic for digital nonvolatile memory applications. The state variable w in such devices has been proposed to be the length of an undoped semiconductor region along the thickness of the thin film that acts as a tunnel barrier for electronic transport across it. The dynamical behavior of w is governed by the drift diffusion of ionized dopants such as oxygen vacancies. Making an analogy to scanning tunneling microscopes (STM), a closed-loop write scheme using current feedback is proposed to switch the memristive devices in a controlled manner. An integrated closed-loop current driver circuit for switching a bipolar memristive device is designed and simulated. The estimated upper limit of the feedback loop bandwidth is in the order of 100 MHz. We applied a SPICE model built upon the TiO₂ memristive switching dynamics to simulate the single-device write operation and found the closed-loop write scheme caused a narrowing of the statistical distribution of the state variable w.     

An electronic implementation of amoeba anticipation

In nature, the capability of memorizing environmental changes and recalling past events can be observed in unicellular organisms like amoebas. Pershin and Di Ventra have shown that such learning behavior can be mimicked in a simple memristive circuit model consisting of an LC (inductance capacitance) contour and a memristive device. Here, we implement this model experimentally by using an Ag/TiO_2?x /Al memristive device. A theoretical analysis of the circuit is used to gain insight into the functionality of this model and to give advice for the circuit implementation. In this respect, the transfer function, resonant frequency, and damping behavior for a varying resistance of the memristive device are discussed in detail.     

忆阻突触耦合环形Hopfield神经网络动力学分析及其电路实现

提出一种新型忆阻器模型, 利用标准非线性理论分析三个忆阻特性, 并设计模拟电路。基于忆阻突触, 构建一个忆阻突触耦合环形Hopfield神经网络模型。采用分岔图、李雅普诺夫指数谱、时序图等方法, 揭示与忆阻突触密切相关的特殊动力学行为。数值仿真表明: 在忆阻突触权重的影响下, 它能够产生多种对称簇发放电模式和复杂的混沌行为。实现了该忆阻环形神经网络的模拟等效电路, 并由PSIM电路仿真验证MATLAB数值仿真的正确性。     

SPICE modeling of flux-controlled unipolar memristive devices

Unipolar memristive devices are an important kind of resistive switching devices. However, few circuit models of them have been proposed. In this paper, we propose the SPICE modeling of flux-controlled unipolar memristive devices based on the memristance versus state map. Using our model, the flux thresholds, ON and OFF resistance, and compliance current can easily be set as model parameters. We simulate the model in HSPICE using model parameters abstracted from real devices, and the simulation results show that the proposed model caters to the real device data very well, thus demonstrating that the model is correct. Using the same modeling methodology, the SPICE model of charge-controlled unipolar memristive devices could also be developed. The proposed model could be used to model resistive memory cells, logical gates as well as synapses in artificial neural networks.     

基于Chua电路的四维超混沌忆阻电路

近年来,忆阻混沌电路受到国内外学者的广泛关注,然而目前四维忆阻系统往往只存在普通混沌(仅有一个正Lyapunov指数),本文通过用忆阻替换Chua电路中电阻的新途径,得出一个简单的四维忆阻电路,与仅含有限个孤立不稳定平衡点的大多已知系统不同,本系统存在无穷多个稳定和不稳定平衡点,研究发现该系统存在着极限环、混沌、超混沌等丰富的复杂行为,通过进一步数值分析和电路仿真实验,证实了超混沌吸引子的存在,从而解决了关于四维忆阻电路是否存在超混沌的疑问。     

改进型细胞神经网络实现的忆阻器混沌电路

在通用细胞神经网络单元的基础上,本文利用忆阻器本身的非线性实现了一种改进型细胞神经网络单元.通过连接4个改进的细胞神经网络单元导出了一种基于状态控制细胞神经网络的忆阻器混沌电路.为了验证该方法的正确性,采用通用的电子器件构建了一个忆阻器的模拟等效电路,并对提出的电路进行了实验分析.实验结果与数值仿真结果的一致性表明采用改进型的细胞神经网络可以有效地实现忆阻器混沌电路.     

Metal/TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> interfaces for memristive switches

The interfaces between metal electrodes and the oxide in TiO₂-based memristive switches play a key role in the switching as well as in the I–V characteristics of the devices in different resistance states. We demonstrate here that the work function of the metal electrode has a surprisingly minor effect in determining the electronic barrier at the interface. In contrast, Ti oxides can be readily reduced by most electrode metals. The amount of oxygen vacancies created by these chemical reactions essentially determines the electronic barrier at the device interfaces.     

Fabrication and electrical characterization of a MOS memory device containing self-assembled metallic nanoparticles

Floating gate devices with nanoparticles embedded in dielectrics have recently attracted much attention due to the fact that these devices operate as non-volatile memories with high speed, high density and low power consumption. In this paper, memory devices containing gold (Au) nanoparticles have been fabricated using e-gun evaporation. The Au nanoparticles are deposited on a very thin SiO₂ layer and are then fully covered by a HfO₂ layer. The HfO₂ is a high-k dielectric and gives good scalability to the fabricated devices. We studied the effect of the deposition parameters to the size and the shape of the Au nanoparticles using capacitance–voltage and conductance–voltage measurements, we demonstrated that the fabricated device can indeed operate as a low-voltage memory device.     

Fabrication and investigation of ferroelectric memristors with various synaptic plasticities

In the post-Moore era, neuromorphic computing has been mainly focused on breaking the von Neumann bottlenecks. Memristors have been proposed as a key part of neuromorphic computing architectures, and can be used to emulate the synaptic plasticities of the human brain. Ferroelectric memristors represent a breakthrough for memristive devices on account of their reliable nonvolatile storage, low write/read latency and tunable conductive states. However, among the reported ferroelectric memristors, the mechanisms of resistive switching are still under debate. In addition, there needs to be more research on emulation of the brain synapses using ferroelectric memristors. Herein, Cu/PbZr_0.52Ti_0.48O₃ (PZT)/Pt ferroelectric memristors have been fabricated. The devices are able to realize the transformation from threshold switching behavior to resistive switching behavior. The synaptic plasticities, including excitatory post-synaptic current, paired-pulse facilitation, paired-pulse depression and spike time-dependent plasticity, have been mimicked by the PZT devices. Furthermore, the mechanisms of PZT devices have been investigated by first-principles calculations based on the interface barrier and conductive filament models. This work may contribute to the application of ferroelectric memristors in neuromorphic computing systems.     

基于忆阻器的多涡卷混沌系统及其脉冲同步控制

忆阻器是一种具有记忆功能和纳米级尺寸的非线性元件,作为混沌系统的非线性部分,能够提高混沌系统的信号随机性和复杂度.本文基于增广Lü系统设计了一个三维忆阻混沌系统.仅仅通过改变系统的一个参数,该系统能产生单涡巻、双涡卷和四涡巻的混沌吸引子,说明该系统具有丰富的混沌特性.首先对该忆阻混沌系统的基本动力学行为进行了理论分析和数值仿真,如平衡点稳定性、对称性,Lyapunov指数和维数,分岔图和Poincare截面等.同时,建立了模拟该忆阻混沌系统的SPICE(simulation program with integrated circuit emphasis)电路,给出了不同参数下的电路实验相图,其仿真结果与数值分析相符,从而验证了该忆阻混沌系统的混沌产生能力.由于脉冲同步只在离散时刻传递信息,能量消耗小,同步速度快,易于实现单信道传输,因而在混沌保密通信中更具有实用性.因此,本文从最大Lyapunov指数的角度实现了该忆阻混沌系统的脉冲混沌同步,数值仿真证实了忆阻混沌系统的存在性以及脉冲同步控制的可行性,为进一步研究该忆阻混沌系统在语音保密通信和信息处理中的应用提供了实验基础.     

基于有源广义忆阻的无感混沌电路研究

采用常见元器件等效实现一个广义忆阻器, 进而制作出一个电路特性可靠的非线性电路, 有助于忆阻混沌电路的非线性现象的实验展示及其所产生的混沌信号的实际工程应用. 基于忆阻二极管桥电路, 构建了一种无接地限制的、易物理实现的一阶有源广义忆阻模拟器; 由该模拟器并联电容后与RC桥式振荡器线性耦合, 实现了一种无电感元件的忆阻混沌电路; 建立了无感忆阻混沌电路的动力学模型, 开展了相应的耗散性、平衡点、稳定性和动力学行为等分析. 结果表明, 无感忆阻混沌电路在相空间中存在分布2个不稳定非零鞍焦的耗散区和包含1个不稳定原点鞍点的非耗散区; 当元件参数改变时, 无感忆阻混沌电路有着共存分岔模式和共存吸引子等非线性行为. 研制了实验电路, 该电路结构简单、易实际制作, 实验测量和数值仿真两者结果一致, 验证了理论分析的有效性.     

Memristive behavior of ZnO film with embedded Ti nano-layers

The excellent memristive behavior of ZnO-based devices with embedded Ti nano-layers is obtained. The results show that inserting Ti layers can effectively reduce the switching voltages and increase the R _off/R _on ratio (more than 10³). In particular, the stable switching properties is obtained by introducing 2.5 nm Ti layer, and the devices show good sweep endurance (about 320 cycles) and a long retention time of more than 10⁶ s as compared with the devices without Ti layer. A model combining the redox reaction and the oxygen vacancy-based conducting filament is proposed to explain the memory effect. The conducting filament will be formed and ruptured along fixed paths at a certain region due to the non-uniform distribution of oxygen vacancies, which is responsible for the improvement of device performance.     

An improved memristor model for brain-inspired computing

Memristors, as memristive devices, have received a great deal of interest since being fabricated by HP labs. The forgetting effect that has significant influences on memristors' performance has to be taken into account when they are employed. It is significant to build a good model that can express the forgetting effect well for application researches due to its promising prospects in brain-inspired computing. Some models are proposed to represent the forgetting effect but do not work well. In this paper, we present a novel window function, which has good performance in a drift model. We analyze the deficiencies of the previous drift diffusion models for the forgetting effect and propose an improved model. Moreover,the improved model is exploited as a synapse model in spiking neural networks to recognize digit images. Simulation results show that the improved model overcomes the defects of the previous models and can be used as a synapse model in brain-inspired computing due to its synaptic characteristics. The results also indicate that the improved model can express the forgetting effect better when it is employed in spiking neural networks, which means that more appropriate evaluations can be obtained in applications.     

Utilizing NDR effect to reduce switching threshold variations in memristive devices

Variations in the switching threshold voltage of memristive devices present significant challenges for their integration into large-scale circuits. In this paper, we propose to address this problem by adding a device exhibiting S-type (N-type) negative differential resistance (NDR) in series (parallel) with memristive devices. The main effect comes from the transition between low- and high-conductivity branches of the NDR device, which leads to a redistribution of the voltage drop inside the device stack, and, as a result, the effective lowering of variations in the switching threshold. The idea is checked experimentally using a TiO_2?x memristive device connected in parallel with a tunnel GaAs diode.     

Simulation of synaptic coupling of neuron-like generators via a memristive device

A physical model of synaptically coupled neuron-like generators interacting via a memristive device has been presented. The model simulates the synaptic transmission of pulsed signals between brain neurons. The action on the receiving generator has been performed via a memristive device that demonstrates adaptive behavior. It has been established that the proposed coupling channel provides the forced synchronization with the parameters depending on the memristive device sensitivity. Synchronization modes 1: 1 and 2: 1 have been experimentally observed.     

Engineering oxide resistive switching materials for memristive device application

Based on a unified physical model and first-principle calculations, a material-oriented methodology has been proposed to control the bipolar switching behavior of an oxide-based resistive random access memory (RRAM) cell. According to the material-oriented methodology, the oxide-based RRAM cell can be designed by material engineering to achieve the required device performance. In this article, a Gd-doped HfO₂ RRAM cell with excellent bipolar switching characteristics is developed to meet the requirements of memristive device application. The typical memristive characteristics of the Gd-doped HfO₂ RRAM cell are presented, and the mechanism is discussed.     

Properties of superconducting Nb/Al/Nb/Al?AlOx?Al?AlOx?Al/Nb/Al/Nb tunnel junctions

Modified geometry (MG) devices, Nb/Al/Nb/Al−AlO_x−Al−AlO_x−Al/Nb/Al/Nb, have been fabricated and investigated in comparison with the basic geometry (BG) double-barrier Nb/Al−AlO_x−Al−AlO_x−Al/Nb devices. The enhancement of the critical temperature in the Al film is found to be weaker for the MG devices as compared with the BG devices at temperatures nearT=4.2 K but stronger at lowT. Indication of an enhancement of dc Josephson critical current density,j _c , at bias voltageV≠0 as compared withj _c (V=0) has been observed in the MG devices for the first time.     

Solar cells based on the poly(N-vinylcarbazole):porphyrin: tris(8-hydroxyquinolinato) aluminium blend system

Organic solar cells based on poly(N-vinylcarbazole)(PVK):porphyrin:tris(8-hydroxyquinolinato) aluminium(Alq3) blend p-n junction systems have been fabricated in this work.The roles of the different components in the blend system and of the amount of porphyrin have been investigated.The 5,10,15,20-tetraphenylporphyrin(TPP) and 5,10,15,20-tetra(o-chloro)phenylporphyrinato-copper(CuTClPP) are used in the solar cells.The results show that TPP is better than CuTClPP in enhancing the performance of PVK:Alq3 solar cells.When the weight ratio of PVK:TPP:Alq3 is 1:1.5:1,the best performance of solar cell is obtained.The open circuit voltage(V oc) is 0.87 V,and the short circuit current(J sc) is 17.5 μA·cm 2.In the ternary bulk hereojunction system,the device may be regarded as a cascade of three devices of PVK:TPP,TPP:Alq3 and PVK:Alq3.PVK,TPP and Alq3 can improve the hole mobility,light absorption intensity and electron mobility of the ternary bulk hereojunction system,respectively.     

Zinc Oxide Thin Films for Memristive Devices: A Review

Zinc Oxide (ZnO) thin films have been addressed as promising candidates for the fabrication of Resistive Random Access Memory devices, which are alternative to conventional charge-based flash memories. According to the filamentary conducting model and charge trapping/detrapping theory developed in the last decade, the memristive behavior of ZnO thin films is explained in terms of conducting filaments formed by metallic ions and/or oxygen vacancies, and their breaking through electrochemical redox reactions and/or recombination of oxygen vacancies/ions. A comparative review of the memristive properties of ZnO thin films grown by sputtering, atomic layer deposition (ALD), pulsed laser deposition (PLD), and sol-gel methods is here proposed. Sputtered ZnO thin films show promising resistive switching behaviors, showing high on/off ratios (10–10⁴), good endurance, and low operating voltages. ALD is also indicated to be useful for growing conformal ZnO layers with atomic thickness control, resulting in important resistive switching characteristics, such as relatively high on/off ratios and low operating voltages. High insulating epitaxial ZnO thin films can be obtained by PLD, showing reliable switching properties at low voltages and with good retention. On the contrary, the sol-gel approach generally results in ZnO thin films with poor resistive switching behaviors. Nevertheless, thin films derived from ZnO NPs show improved switching performances, with higher on/off ratios and lower operating voltages. Independently of the synthetic approach, doped ZnO thin films exhibit better resistive switching behaviors than pristine ones, coupling a strong increase of the on/off ratio with a more stable switching response.     

Dye-doped polymeric planar waveguide devices based on a thermal UV-bleaching technique

A new type of single-mode embedded dye-doped polymeric planar waveguide device based on cross-linkable negative photoresist has been successfully designed and fabricated using a UV-bleaching technique. A notable difference in the refractive index of the resist between exposed and un-exposed regions was observed, which was found to be dependent on the curing temperature. The new fabrication technique is a simple, rapid, and controllable process. The easy-to-fabricate waveguide structure is suitable for planar light-wave circuit applications. By optimizing the poling temperature and the dopant levels of Disperse Red 1, the material showed excellent photostability and exhibited a electro-optic coefficient, γ₃₃, of 25 pm/V. The dye-doped polymeric planar waveguide devices will be useful in realizing electro-optic (EO) modulators and switches.