A novel characterization and performance measurement of memristor devices for synaptic emulators in advanced neuro-computing

Abstract

The advanced neuro-computing field requires new memristor devices with great potential as synaptic emulators between pre-and postsynaptic neurons. This paper presents memristor devices with TiO<inf>2</inf> Nanoparticles (NPs)/Ag(Silver) and Titanium Dioxide (TiO<inf>2</inf>) Nanoparticles (NPs)/Au(Gold) electrodes for synaptic emulators in an advanced neurocomputing application. A comparative study between Ag(Silver)-and Au(Gold)-based memristor devices is presented where the Ag electrode provides the improved performance, as compared to the Au electrode. Device characterization is observed by the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) image, which displays the grown electrode, while the morphology of nanoparticles (NPs) is verified by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). The resistive switching (RS) phenomena observed in Ag/TiO<inf>2</inf> and Au/TiO<inf>2</inf> shows the sweeping mechanism for low resistance and high resistance states. The resistive switching time of Au/TiO<inf>2</inf> NPs and Ag/TiO<inf>2</inf> NPs is calculated, while the theoretical validation of the memory window demonstrates memristor behavior as a synaptic emulator. Measurement of the capacitor-voltage curve shows that the memristor with Ag contact is a good candidate for charge storage as compared to Au. The classification of 3 x 3 pixel black/white image is demonstrated by the 3 x 3 cross bar memristor with pre-and post-neuron system. The proposed memristor devices with the Ag electrode demonstrate the adequate performance compared to the Au electrode, and may present noteworthy advantages in the field of neuromorphic computing. © 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.