Modeling Memristor-Based Circuit Networks on Crossbar Architectures

Abstract

Over 30 years ago Leon Chua proposed the existence of a new class of passive circuit elements, which he called memristors and memristive devices. The unique electrical characteristics associated with them, along with the advantages of crossbar structures, have the potential to revolutionize computing architectures. Being associated with the totally nonlinear behavior of individual memristive elements, circuits of multiple memristors may work in very complicated way, quite difficult to predict, due to the polarity-dependent nonlinear variation in the memory resistance (memristance) of individual memristors. A well defined and effective memristor model for circuit design combined with a design paradigm which exploits the composite behavior of memristive elements, based on well understood underlying logic design principles, would certainly accelerate research on nanoscale circuits and systems. Towards this goal, we explore the dynamics of regular network geometries containing only memristive devices and present a memristor crossbar circuit design paradigm in which memristors are modeled using the quantum mechanical phenomenon of tunneling. We use this circuit model to test various logic circuit designs capable of universal computation, and finally, we develop and present a novel design paradigm for memristor-based crossbar circuits.