SPICE Modeling of Insulator Metal Transition: Model of the Critical Temperature

Abstract

This paper proposes a compact SPICE phenomenological model for insulator metal transition (IMT) devices. The proposed model captures the interplay of electric field and Joule heating to effect a transition from a high resistance insulating state to a low resistance metallic state. The model is corroborated against experimental results and electrothermal simulations available in the literature. The proposed model is implemented in Verilog-A and is fully compatible with commercial SPICE simulators such as Spectre from Cadence, used in this paper. An IMT-based artificial neuron is then designed and simulated using the proposed IMT compact model and design expressions for the operation of the proposed neuron are derived. The simulation results agree with the expected neuron behavior as well as the simulation results of other similar neurons proposed in the literature. This paper will enable circuit designers to design and simulate IMT-based systems and help them explore the full potential of such novel devices.