• Latest
  • Trending
  • All
  • Capacitors
  • Resistors
  • Inductors
  • Filters
  • Fuses
  • Non-linear Passives
  • Applications
  • Integrated Passives
  • Oscillators
  • Passive Sensors
  • New Technologies
  • Aerospace & Defence
  • Automotive
  • Industrial
  • Market & Supply Chain
  • Medical
  • RF & Microwave
  • Telecommunication
Synapses, the connections between neurons, have the ability to transmit signals with varying degrees of strength when they are excited by a quick succession of electrical impulses. One effect of this repeated activity is to increase the concentration of calcium ions, with the result that more neurotransmitters are emitted. Depending on the activity, other effects cause long-term structural changes, which impact the strength of the transmission for several hours, or potentially even for the rest of the person’s life.

Memristive elements allow the strength of the electrical transmission to be changed in a similar way to synaptic connections, by applying a voltage. In electrochemical metallization cells (ECMs), a metallic filament develops between the two metal electrodes, thus increasing conductivity. Applying voltage pulses with reversed polarity causes the filament to shrink again until the cell reaches its initial high resistance state. Copyright: Forschungszentrum Jülich / Tobias Schlößer

Purity of Materials May be the Key in Further Memristor Development

11.4.2022

Vishay NTC Thermistor LTspice Simulation for PID Optimization; Vishay Webinar

21.5.2022

Coverlay – More than a Flexible Soldermask Substitute; WE Webinar

19.5.2022

Stackpole Presents High Current Metal Shunt Resistors

19.5.2022

Coilcraft Introduced Ultra-Low Loss Shielded Power Inductors

19.5.2022
  • Home
  • Privacy Policy
  • EPCI Advertisement & Membership
  • About
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
Passive Components Blog
  • Home
  • NewsFilter
    • All
    • Aerospace & Defence
    • Antenna
    • Applications
    • Automotive
    • Capacitors
    • Filters
    • Fuses
    • Inductors
    • Industrial
    • Integrated Passives
    • Market & Supply Chain
    • Medical
    • New Materials & Supply
    • New Technologies
    • Non-linear Passives
    • Oscillators
    • Passive Sensors
    • Resistors
    • RF & Microwave
    • Telecommunication

    Vishay NTC Thermistor LTspice Simulation for PID Optimization; Vishay Webinar

    Stackpole Presents High Current Metal Shunt Resistors

    Coilcraft Introduced Ultra-Low Loss Shielded Power Inductors

    Panasonic Releases SMD Automotive Power Choke Coil

    GAM Introduces Tantalum and Niobium Powders for Cold Spray Applications

    Skeleton Curved Graphene Scientists Named as European Inventor Award 2022 Finalists

    Flexible Cable Supercapacitor Application in EVs and HEVs

    Snubber Capacitor Selection for SiC-Based Switching Converters

    Vishay Releases High Precision Compact Thin Film Wraparound Chip Resistor 

    Trending Tags

    • Ripple Current
    • RF
    • Leakage Current
    • Tantalum vs Ceramic
    • Snubber
    • Low ESR
    • Feedthrough
    • Derating
    • Dielectric Constant
    • New Products
    • Market Reports
  • VideoFilter
    • All
    • Antenna videos
    • Capacitor videos
    • Filter videos
    • Fuse videos
    • Inductor videos
    • Non-linear passives videos
    • Oscillator videos
    • Passive sensors videos
    • Resistor videos
    • Sensors

    Vishay NTC Thermistor LTspice Simulation for PID Optimization; Vishay Webinar

    Coverlay – More than a Flexible Soldermask Substitute; WE Webinar

    Soldering THT Components by SMD Reflow Assembly; WE Webinar

    Strain Gage Resistive Sensor Simulation; Vishay Video

    EMC Filters Explained – from Component to Design; WE Webinar

    How to Avoid EMI Noise on Data Cable by Isolated Power Module; WE askLorandt Video

    Introduction to Wireless Power Transfer; WE Webinar

    How to Pass Conducted Emissions Using Line Filters; WE Webinar

    EMI Debugging of a Low Power Buck Converter; WE Webinar

    Trending Tags

    • Capacitors explained
    • Inductors explained
    • Resistors explained
    • Filters explained
    • Application Video Guidelines
    • EMC
    • New Products
    • Ripple Current
    • Simulation
    • Tantalum vs Ceramic
  • Knowledge Blog
  • Preferred Suppliers
  • Who is Who
  • Events
  • Home
  • NewsFilter
    • All
    • Aerospace & Defence
    • Antenna
    • Applications
    • Automotive
    • Capacitors
    • Filters
    • Fuses
    • Inductors
    • Industrial
    • Integrated Passives
    • Market & Supply Chain
    • Medical
    • New Materials & Supply
    • New Technologies
    • Non-linear Passives
    • Oscillators
    • Passive Sensors
    • Resistors
    • RF & Microwave
    • Telecommunication

    Vishay NTC Thermistor LTspice Simulation for PID Optimization; Vishay Webinar

    Stackpole Presents High Current Metal Shunt Resistors

    Coilcraft Introduced Ultra-Low Loss Shielded Power Inductors

    Panasonic Releases SMD Automotive Power Choke Coil

    GAM Introduces Tantalum and Niobium Powders for Cold Spray Applications

    Skeleton Curved Graphene Scientists Named as European Inventor Award 2022 Finalists

    Flexible Cable Supercapacitor Application in EVs and HEVs

    Snubber Capacitor Selection for SiC-Based Switching Converters

    Vishay Releases High Precision Compact Thin Film Wraparound Chip Resistor 

    Trending Tags

    • Ripple Current
    • RF
    • Leakage Current
    • Tantalum vs Ceramic
    • Snubber
    • Low ESR
    • Feedthrough
    • Derating
    • Dielectric Constant
    • New Products
    • Market Reports
  • VideoFilter
    • All
    • Antenna videos
    • Capacitor videos
    • Filter videos
    • Fuse videos
    • Inductor videos
    • Non-linear passives videos
    • Oscillator videos
    • Passive sensors videos
    • Resistor videos
    • Sensors

    Vishay NTC Thermistor LTspice Simulation for PID Optimization; Vishay Webinar

    Coverlay – More than a Flexible Soldermask Substitute; WE Webinar

    Soldering THT Components by SMD Reflow Assembly; WE Webinar

    Strain Gage Resistive Sensor Simulation; Vishay Video

    EMC Filters Explained – from Component to Design; WE Webinar

    How to Avoid EMI Noise on Data Cable by Isolated Power Module; WE askLorandt Video

    Introduction to Wireless Power Transfer; WE Webinar

    How to Pass Conducted Emissions Using Line Filters; WE Webinar

    EMI Debugging of a Low Power Buck Converter; WE Webinar

    Trending Tags

    • Capacitors explained
    • Inductors explained
    • Resistors explained
    • Filters explained
    • Application Video Guidelines
    • EMC
    • New Products
    • Ripple Current
    • Simulation
    • Tantalum vs Ceramic
  • Knowledge Blog
  • Preferred Suppliers
  • Who is Who
  • Events
No Result
View All Result
Passive Components Blog
No Result
View All Result

Purity of Materials May be the Key in Further Memristor Development

11.4.2022
Reading Time: 4 mins read
0 0
Synapses, the connections between neurons, have the ability to transmit signals with varying degrees of strength when they are excited by a quick succession of electrical impulses. One effect of this repeated activity is to increase the concentration of calcium ions, with the result that more neurotransmitters are emitted. Depending on the activity, other effects cause long-term structural changes, which impact the strength of the transmission for several hours, or potentially even for the rest of the person’s life.

Memristive elements allow the strength of the electrical transmission to be changed in a similar way to synaptic connections, by applying a voltage. In electrochemical metallization cells (ECMs), a metallic filament develops between the two metal electrodes, thus increasing conductivity. Applying voltage pulses with reversed polarity causes the filament to shrink again until the cell reaches its initial high resistance state. Copyright: Forschungszentrum Jülich / Tobias Schlößer

Synapses, the connections between neurons, have the ability to transmit signals with varying degrees of strength when they are excited by a quick succession of electrical impulses. One effect of this repeated activity is to increase the concentration of calcium ions, with the result that more neurotransmitters are emitted. Depending on the activity, other effects cause long-term structural changes, which impact the strength of the transmission for several hours, or potentially even for the rest of the person’s life. Memristive elements allow the strength of the electrical transmission to be changed in a similar way to synaptic connections, by applying a voltage. In electrochemical metallization cells (ECMs), a metallic filament develops between the two metal electrodes, thus increasing conductivity. Applying voltage pulses with reversed polarity causes the filament to shrink again until the cell reaches its initial high resistance state. Copyright: Forschungszentrum Jülich / Tobias Schlößer

0
SHARES
137
VIEWS

Scientists around the world are intensively working on memristive devices, which are capable in extremely low power operation and behave similarly to neurons in the brain. Researchers from the Jülich Aachen Research Alliance (JARA) and the German technology group Heraeus have now discovered how to systematically control the functional behaviour of these elements where purity of materials may play an essential role.

The smallest differences in material composition are found crucial: differences so small that until now experts had failed to notice them. The researchers’ design directions could help to increase variety, efficiency, selectivity and reliability for memristive technology-based applications, for example for energy-efficient, non-volatile storage devices or neuro-inspired computers.

Memristors are considered a highly promising alternative to conventional nanoelectronic elements in computer Chips. Because of the advantageous functionalities, their development is being eagerly pursued by many companies and research institutions around the world. The Japanese corporation NEC installed already the first prototypes in space satellites back in 2017. Many other leading companies such as Hewlett Packard, Intel, IBM, and Samsung are working to bring innovative types of computer and storage devices based on memristive elements to market.

Fundamentally, memristors are simply “resistors with memory”, in which high resistance can be switched to low resistance and back again. This means in principle that the devices are adaptive, similar to a synapse in a biological nervous system. “Memristive elements are considered ideal candidates for neuro-inspired computers modelled on the brain, which are attracting a great deal of interest in connection with deep learning and artificial intelligence,” says Dr. Ilia Valov of the Peter Grünberg Institute (PGI-7) at Forschungszentrum Jülich.

In the latest issue of the open access journal Science Advances, he and his team describe how the switching and neuromorphic behaviour of memristive elements can be selectively controlled. According to their findings, the crucial factor is the purity of the switching oxide layer. “Depending on whether you use a material that is 99.999999 % pure, and whether you introduce one foreign atom into ten million atoms of pure material or into one hundred atoms, the properties of the memristive elements vary substantially” says Valov.

This effect had so far been overlooked by experts. It can be used very specifically for designing memristive systems, in a similar way to doping semiconductors in information technology. “The introduction of foreign atoms allows us to control the solubility and transport properties of the thin oxide layers,” explains Dr. Christian Neumann of the technology group Heraeus. He has been contributing his materials expertise to the project ever since the initial idea was conceived in 2015.

“In recent years there has been remarkable progress in the development and use of memristive devices, however that progress has often been achieved on a purely empirical basis,” according to Valov. Using the insights that his team has gained, manufacturers could now methodically develop memristive elements selecting the functions they need. The higher the doping concentration, the slower the resistance of the elements changes as the number of incoming voltage pulses increases and decreases, and the more stable the resistance remains. “This means that we have found a way for designing types of artificial synapses with differing excitability,” explains Valov.

RelatedPosts

Researchers Demonstrated Quantum Memristor as a Link between AI and Quantum Computing

Graphene-based Memristors Show Promise for Brain-Based Computing

Nanometers-thin Niobium Oxide (NbO2) Memristor Can Bring Breakthrough to Neuromorphic AI Hardware Designs

Design specification for artificial synapses

The brain’s ability to learn and retain information can largely be attributed to the fact that the connections between neurons are strengthened when they are frequently used. Memristive devices, of which there are different types such as electrochemical metallization cells (ECMs) or valence change memory cells (VCMs), behave similarly. When these components are used, the conductivity increases as the number of incoming voltage pulses increases. The changes can also be reversed by applying voltage pulses of the opposite polarity.

The JARA researchers conducted their systematic experiments on ECMs, which consist of a copper electrode, a platinum electrode, and a layer of silicon dioxide between them. Thanks to the cooperation with Heraeus researchers, the JARA scientists had access to different types of silicon dioxide: one with a purity of 99.999999 % – also called 8N silicon dioxide – and others containing 100 to 10,000 ppm (parts per million) of foreign atoms. The precisely doped glass used in their experiments was specially developed and manufactured by quartz glass specialist Heraeus Conamic, which also holds the patent for the procedure. Copper and protons acted as mobile doping agents, while aluminium and gallium were used as non-volatile doping.

Record switching time confirms theory

Based on their series of experiments, the researchers were able to show that the ECMs’ switching times change as the amount of doping atoms changes. If the switching layer is made of 8N silicon dioxide, the memristive component switches in only 1.4 nanoseconds. To date, the fastest value ever measured for ECMs had been around 10 nanoseconds. By doping the oxide layer of the components with up to 10,000 ppm of foreign atoms, the switching time was prolonged into the range of milliseconds. “We can also theoretically explain our results. This is helping us to understand the physico-chemical processes on the nanoscale and apply this knowledge in the practice” says Valov. Based on generally applicable theoretical considerations, supported by experimental results, some also documented in the literature, he is convinced that the doping/impurity effect occurs and can be employed in all types memristive elements.

Reference: Lübben, M., Cüppers, F., Mohr, J., Witzleben, M. von, Breuer, U., Waser, R., Neumann, C., & Valov, I. (2020). Design of defect-chemical properties and device performance in memristive systems. Science Advances, 6(19), https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aaz9079

Source: Juelich Forschungzentrum

Related Posts

Applications e-Blog

Vishay NTC Thermistor LTspice Simulation for PID Optimization; Vishay Webinar

21.5.2022
29
Capacitors

GAM Introduces Tantalum and Niobium Powders for Cold Spray Applications

19.5.2022
37
Market & Supply Chain

Rising Zinc Material Cost May Impact Varistor Pricing

6.5.2022
48

Popular Posts

  • Dielectric Constant and its Effects on the Properties of a Capacitor

    7 shares
    Share 7 Tweet 0
  • Capacitor Selection for Coupling and Decoupling Applications

    28 shares
    Share 28 Tweet 0
  • Understanding High-Precision Resistor Temperature Coefficient of Resistance

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • How to Choose the Right Inductor for DC-DC Buck Applications

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • What is a Dielectric Constant of Plastic Materials ?

    4 shares
    Share 4 Tweet 0

Newsletter Subscription

 

  • Home
  • Privacy Policy
  • EPCI Advertisement & Membership
  • About

© 2021 EPCI - Premium Passive Components Educational and Information Site

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Video
  • Knowledge Blog
  • Preferred Suppliers
  • Events

© 2021 EPCI - Premium Passive Components Educational and Information Site

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.