Neuromorphic circuits based on memristors: endowing robots with a human-like brain

Robots are widely used,providing significant convenience in daily life and production.With the rapid development of artificial intelligence and neuromorphic computing in recent years,the realization of more intelligent robots through a pro-found intersection of neuroscience and robotics has received much attention.Neuromorphic circuits based on memristors used to construct hardware neural networks have proved to be a promising solution of shattering traditional control limita-tions in the field of robot control,showcasing characteristics that enhance robot intelligence,speed,and energy efficiency.Start-ing with introducing the working mechanism of memristors and peripheral circuit design,this review gives a comprehensive analysis on the biomimetic information processing and biomimetic driving operations achieved through the utilization of neuro-morphic circuits in brain-like control.Four hardware neural network approaches,including digital-analog hybrid circuit design,novel device structure design,multi-regulation mechanism,and crossbar array,are summarized,which can well simulate the motor decision-making mechanism,multi-information integration and parallel control of brain at the hardware level.It will be definitely conductive to promote the application of memristor-based neuromorphic circuits in areas such as intelligent robotics,artificial intelligence,and neural computing.Finally,a conclusion and future prospects are discussed.

Recent Advances in In-Memory Computing:Exploring Memristor and Memtransistor Arrays with 2D Materials

The conventional computing architecture faces substantial chal-lenges,including high latency and energy consumption between memory and processing units.In response,in-memory computing has emerged as a promising alternative architecture,enabling computing operations within memory arrays to overcome these limitations.Memristive devices have gained significant attention as key components for in-memory computing due to their high-density arrays,rapid response times,and ability to emulate biological synapses.Among these devices,two-dimensional(2D)material-based memristor and memtransistor arrays have emerged as particularly promising candidates for next-generation in-memory computing,thanks to their exceptional performance driven by the unique properties of 2D materials,such as layered structures,mechanical flexibility,and the capability to form heterojunctions.This review delves into the state-of-the-art research on 2D material-based memristive arrays,encompassing critical aspects such as material selection,device perfor-mance metrics,array structures,and potential applications.Furthermore,it provides a comprehensive overview of the current challenges and limitations associated with these arrays,along with potential solutions.The primary objective of this review is to serve as a significant milestone in realizing next-generation in-memory computing utilizing 2D materials and bridge the gap from single-device characterization to array-level and system-level implementations of neuromorphic computing,leveraging the potential of 2D material-based memristive devices.

Electrochemical anodic oxidation assisted fabrication of memristors

Owing to the advantages of simple structure,low power consumption and high-density integration,memristors or memristive devices are attracting increasing attention in the fields such as next generation non-volatile memories,neuromorphic computation and data encryption.However,the deposition of memristive films often requires expensive equipment,strict vacuum conditions,high energy consumption,and extended processing times.In contrast,electrochemical anodizing can produce metal oxide films quickly(e.g.10 s) under ambient conditions.By means of the anodizing technique,oxide films,oxide nanotubes,nanowires and nanodots can be fabricated to prepare memristors.Oxide film thickness,nanostructures,defect concentrations,etc,can be varied to regulate device performances by adjusting oxidation parameters such as voltage,current and time.Thus memristors fabricated by the anodic oxidation technique can achieve high device consistency,low variation,and ultrahigh yield rate.This article provides a comprehensive review of the research progress in the field of anodic oxidation assisted fabrication of memristors.Firstly,the principle of anodic oxidation is introduced;then,different types of memristors produced by anodic oxidation and their applications are presented;finally,features and challenges of anodic oxidation for memristor production are elaborated.

Dynamical behaviors in discrete memristor-coupled small-world neuronal networks

The brain is a complex network system in which a large number of neurons are widely connected to each other and transmit signals to each other.The memory characteristic of memristors makes them suitable for simulating neuronal synapses with plasticity.In this paper,a memristor is used to simulate a synapse,a discrete small-world neuronal network is constructed based on Rulkov neurons and its dynamical behavior is explored.We explore the influence of system parameters on the dynamical behaviors of the discrete small-world network,and the system shows a variety of firing patterns such as spiking firing and triangular burst firing when the neuronal parameterαis changed.The results of a numerical simulation based on Matlab show that the network topology can affect the synchronous firing behavior of the neuronal network,and the higher the reconnection probability and number of the nearest neurons,the more significant the synchronization state of the neurons.In addition,by increasing the coupling strength of memristor synapses,synchronization performance is promoted.The results of this paper can boost research into complex neuronal networks coupled with memristor synapses and further promote the development of neuroscience.

Dynamics and synchronization in a memristor-coupled discrete heterogeneous neuron network considering noise

Research on discrete memristor-based neural networks has received much attention.However,current research mainly focuses on memristor–based discrete homogeneous neuron networks,while memristor-coupled discrete heterogeneous neuron networks are rarely reported.In this study,a new four-stable discrete locally active memristor is proposed and its nonvolatile and locally active properties are verified by its power-off plot and DC V–I diagram.Based on two-dimensional(2D)discrete Izhikevich neuron and 2D discrete Chialvo neuron,a heterogeneous discrete neuron network is constructed by using the proposed discrete memristor as a coupling synapse connecting the two heterogeneous neurons.Considering the coupling strength as the control parameter,chaotic firing,periodic firing,and hyperchaotic firing patterns are revealed.In particular,multiple coexisting firing patterns are observed,which are induced by different initial values of the memristor.Phase synchronization between the two heterogeneous neurons is discussed and it is found that they can achieve perfect synchronous at large coupling strength.Furthermore,the effect of Gaussian white noise on synchronization behaviors is also explored.We demonstrate that the presence of noise not only leads to the transition of firing patterns,but also achieves the phase synchronization between two heterogeneous neurons under low coupling strength.

Application of artificial synapse based on all-inorganic perovskite memristor in neuromorphic computing

Artificial synapse inspired by the biological brain has great potential in the field of neuromorphic computing and artificial intelligence.The memristor is an ideal artificial synaptic device with fast operation and good tolerance.Here,we have prepared a memristor device with Au/CsPbBr_(3)/ITO structure.The memristor device exhibits resistance switching behavior,the high and low resistance states no obvious decline after 400 switching times.The memristor device is stimulated by voltage pulses to simulate biological synaptic plasticity,such as long-term potentiation,long-term depression,pair-pulse facilitation,short-term depression,and short-term potentiation.The transformation from short-term memory to long-term memory is achieved by changing the stimulation frequency.In addition,a convolutional neural network was constructed to train/recognize MNIST handwritten data sets;a distinguished recognition accuracy of~96.7%on the digital image was obtained in 100 epochs,which is more accurate than other memristor-based neural networks.These results show that the memristor device based on CsPbBr3 has immense potential in the neuromorphic computing system.

Dynamical behavior of memristor-coupled heterogeneous discrete neural networks with synaptic crosstalk

Synaptic crosstalk is a prevalent phenomenon among neuronal synapses,playing a crucial role in the transmission of neural signals.Therefore,considering synaptic crosstalk behavior and investigating the dynamical behavior of discrete neural networks are highly necessary.In this paper,we propose a heterogeneous discrete neural network(HDNN)consisting of a three-dimensional KTz discrete neuron and a Chialvo discrete neuron.These two neurons are coupled mutually by two discrete memristors and the synaptic crosstalk is considered.The impact of crosstalk strength on the firing behavior of the HDNN is explored through bifurcation diagrams and Lyapunov exponents.It is observed that the HDNN exhibits different coexisting attractors under varying crosstalk strengths.Furthermore,the influence of different crosstalk strengths on the synchronized firing of the HDNN is investigated,revealing a gradual attainment of phase synchronization between the two discrete neurons as the crosstalk strength decreases.

Sliding-mode-based preassigned-time control of a class of memristor chaotic systems

This paper addresses the preassigned-time chaos control problem of memristor chaotic systems with time delays.Since the introduction of memristor,the presented models are nonlinear systems with chaotic dynamics.First,the TS fuzzy method is adopted to describe the chaotic systems.Then,a sliding-model-based control approach is proposed to achieve the preassigned-time stabilization of the presented models,where the upper bound of stabilization time can be arbitrarily specified in advance.Finally,simulation results demonstrate the validity of presented control approach and theoretic results.

Memristors-coupled neuron models with multiple firing patterns and homogeneous and heterogeneous multistability

Memristors are extensively used to estimate the external electromagnetic stimulation and synapses for neurons.In this paper,two distinct scenarios,i.e.,an ideal memristor serves as external electromagnetic stimulation and a locally active memristor serves as a synapse,are formulated to investigate the impact of a memristor on a two-dimensional Hindmarsh-Rose neuron model.Numerical simulations show that the neuronal models in different scenarios have multiple burst firing patterns.The introduction of the memristor makes the neuronal model exhibit complex dynamical behaviors.Finally,the simulation circuit and DSP hardware implementation results validate the physical mechanism,as well as the reliability of the biological neuron model.

Advances in memristor based artificial neuron fabrication-materials,models,and applications

Spiking neural network(SNN),widely known as the third-generation neural network,has been frequently investigated due to its excellent spatiotemporal information processing capability,high biological plausibility,and low energy consumption characteristics.Analogous to the working mechanism of human brain,the SNN system transmits information through the spiking action of neurons.Therefore,artificial neurons are critical building blocks for constructing SNN in hardware.Memristors are drawing growing attention due to low consumption,high speed,and nonlinearity characteristics,which are recently introduced to mimic the functions of biological neurons.Researchers have proposed multifarious memristive materials including organic materials,inorganic materials,or even two-dimensional materials.Taking advantage of the unique electrical behavior of these materials,several neuron models are successfully implemented,such as Hodgkin–Huxley model,leaky integrate-and-fire model and integrate-and-fire model.In this review,the recent reports of artificial neurons based on memristive devices are discussed.In addition,we highlight the models and applications through combining artificial neuronal devices with sensors or other electronic devices.Finally,the future challenges and outlooks of memristor-based artificial neurons are discussed,and the development of hardware implementation of brain-like intelligence system based on SNN is also prospected.

One memristor–one electrolyte-gated transistor-based high energy-efficient dropout neuronal units

Artificial neural networks(ANN) have been extensively researched due to their significant energy-saving benefits.Hardware implementations of ANN with dropout function would be able to avoid the overfitting problem. This letter reports a dropout neuronal unit(1R1T-DNU) based on one memristor–one electrolyte-gated transistor with an ultralow energy consumption of 25 p J/spike. A dropout neural network is constructed based on such a device and has been verified by MNIST dataset, demonstrating high recognition accuracies(> 90%) within a large range of dropout probabilities up to40%. The running time can be reduced by increasing dropout probability without a significant loss in accuracy. Our results indicate the great potential of introducing such 1R1T-DNUs in full-hardware neural networks to enhance energy efficiency and to solve the overfitting problem.

Tailoring Classical Conditioning Behavior in TiO_(2) Nanowires:ZnO QDs-Based Optoelectronic Memristors for Neuromorphic Hardware

Neuromorphic hardware equipped with associative learn-ing capabilities presents fascinating applications in the next generation of artificial intelligence.However,research into synaptic devices exhibiting complex associative learning behaviors is still nascent.Here,an optoelec-tronic memristor based on Ag/TiO_(2) Nanowires:ZnO Quantum dots/FTO was proposed and constructed to emulate the biological associative learning behaviors.Effective implementation of synaptic behaviors,including long and short-term plasticity,and learning-forgetting-relearning behaviors,were achieved in the device through the application of light and electrical stimuli.Leveraging the optoelectronic co-modulated characteristics,a simulation of neuromorphic computing was conducted,resulting in a handwriting digit recognition accuracy of 88.9%.Furthermore,a 3×7 memristor array was constructed,confirming its application in artificial visual memory.Most importantly,complex biological associative learning behaviors were emulated by mapping the light and electrical stimuli into conditioned and unconditioned stimuli,respectively.After training through associative pairs,reflexes could be triggered solely using light stimuli.Comprehen-sively,under specific optoelectronic signal applications,the four features of classical conditioning,namely acquisition,extinction,recovery,and generalization,were elegantly emulated.This work provides an optoelectronic memristor with associative behavior capabilities,offering a pathway for advancing brain-machine interfaces,autonomous robots,and machine self-learning in the future.

Transient chaos in smooth memristor oscillator

This paper presents a new smooth memristor oscillator, which is derived from Chua＇s oscillator by replacing Chua＇s diode with a flux-controlled memristor and a negative conductance. Novel parameters and initial conditions are dependent upon dynamical behaviours such as transient chaos and stable chaos with an intermittence period and are found in the smooth memristor oscillator. By using dynamical analysis approaches including time series, phase portraits and bifurcation diagrams, the dynamical behaviours of the proposed memristor oscillator are effectively investigated in this paper.

A memristor oscillator based on a twin-T network

A novel inductance-free nonlinear oscillator circuit with a single bifurcation parameter is presented in this paper. This circuit is composed of a twin-T oscillator, a passive RC network, and a flux-controlled memristor. With an increase in the control parameter, the circuit exhibits complicated chaotic behaviors from double periodicity. The dynamic properties of the circuit are demonstrated by means of equilibrium stability, Lyapunov exponent spectra, and bifurcation diagrams. In order to confirm the occurrence of chaotic behavior in the circuit, an analog realization of the piecewise-linear flux-controlled memristor is proposed, and Pspice simulation is conducted on the resulting circuit.

Energy feedback and synchronous dynamics of Hindmarsh–Rose neuron model with memristor

We analyze the energy aspects of single and coupled Hindmarsh–Rose(HR) neuron models with a quadratic flux controlled memristor. The energy function for HR neuron with memristor has been derived and the dynamics have been analyzed in the presence of various external stimuli. We found that the bursting mode of the system changes with external forcing. The negative feedback in Hamilton energy function effectively stabilizes the chaotic trajectories and controls the phase space. The Lyapunov exponents have been plotted to verify the stabilization of trajectories. The energy aspects during the synchronous dynamics of electrically coupled neurons have been analyzed. As the coupling strength increases, the average energy fluctuates and stabilizes at the point of synchronization. When the neurons are coupled via chemical synapse,the average energy variations show three important regimes: a fluctuating regime corresponding to the desynchronized, a stable region indicating synchronized and a linearly increasing regime corresponding to the amplitude death states have been observed. The synchronization transitions are verified by plotting the transverse Lyapunov exponents. The proposed method has a large number of applications in controlling coupled chaotic systems and in analyzing the energy change during various metabolic processes.

Memristor bridge-based low pass filter for image processing

This paper highlights the memristor bridge-based lowpass filter (LPF) and improved image processing algorithms along with a novel adaptive Gaussian filter for denoising image and a new Gaussian pyramid for scale invariant feature transform (SIFT). First, a novel kind of LPF based on the memristor bridge is designed, whose cut-off frequency and other traits are demonstrated to change with different time and memristance. In light of the changeable parameter of the memristor bridge-based LPF, a new adaptive Gaussian filter and an improved SIFT algorithm are presented. Finally, experiment results show that the peak signalto- noise ratio (PSNR) of our denoising is bettered more than 2.77 dB compared to the corresponding of the traditional Gaussian filter, and our improved SIFT performances including the number of matched feature points and the percent of correct matches are higher than the traditional SIFT, which verifies feasibility and effectiveness of our algorithm.

Mapping equivalent approach to analysis and realization of memristor-based dynamical circuit

A novel mapping equivalent approach is proposed in this paper, which can be used for analyzing and realizing a memristor-based dynamical circuit equivalently by a nonlinear dynamical circuit with the same topologies and circuit parameters. A memristor-based chaotic circuit and the corresponding Chua＇s chaotic circuit with two output differentiators are taken as examples to illustrate this approach. Equivalent dynamical analysis and realization of the memristor-based chaotic circuit are performed by using Chua＇s chaotic circuit. The results indicate that the outputs of memristor-based chaotic circuit and the corresponding outputs of Chua＇s chaotic circuit have identical dynamics. The proposed approach verified by numerical simulations and experimental observations is useful in designing and analyzing memristor-based dynamical circuits.

Towards engineering in memristors for emerging memory and neuromorphic computing: A review

Resistive random-access memory(RRAM),also known as memristors,having a very simple device structure with two terminals,fulfill almost all of the fundamental requirements of volatile memory,nonvolatile memory,and neuromorphic characteristics.Its memory and neuromorphic behaviors are currently being explored in relation to a range of materials,such as biological materials,perovskites,2D materials,and transition metal oxides.In this review,we discuss the different electrical behaviors exhibited by RRAM devices based on these materials by briefly explaining their corresponding switching mechanisms.We then discuss emergent memory technologies using memristors,together with its potential neuromorphic applications,by elucidating the different material engineering techniques used during device fabrication to improve the memory and neuromorphic performance of devices,in areas such as ION/IOFF ratio,endurance,spike time-dependent plasticity(STDP),and paired-pulse facilitation(PPF),among others.The emulation of essential biological synaptic functions realized in various switching materials,including inorganic metal oxides and new organic materials,as well as diverse device structures such as single-layer and multilayer hetero-structured devices,and crossbar arrays,is analyzed in detail.Finally,we discuss current challenges and future prospects for the development of inorganic and new materials-based memristors.

The influences of model parameters on the characteristics of memristors

As the fourth passive circuit component, a memristor is a nonlinear resistor that can ＂remember＂ the amount of charge passing through it. The characteristic of ＂remembering＂ the charge and non-volatility makes memristors great potential candidates in many fields. Nowadays, only a few groups have the ability to fabricate memristors, and most researchers study them by theoretic analysis and simulation. In this paper, we first analyse the theoretical base and characteristics of memristors, then use a simulation program with integrated circuit emphasis as our tool to simulate the theoretical model of memristors and change the parameters in the model to see the influence of each parameter on the characteristics. Our work supplies researchers engaged in memristor-based circuits with advice on how to choose the proper parameters.

Mutator for transferring a memristor emulator into meminductive and memcapacitive circuits

In this paper, a concise but effective interface circuit for transforming a memristor into meminductive and memcapac- itive systems is designed. This newly proposed interface circuit, constructed by only two current conveyors, is equipped with three available ports, which can provide six connecting combinations in terms of one resistor, one capacitor, and one memristor. For the sake of confirming the design effectiveness, theoretical and simulation discussions are hence introduced and all the experimental waveforms provide conclusive evidence to validate the correctness of these new mutators. The most attractive features of this new interface circuit are the floating terminals and convenient practical implementation.