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arXiv · 1206.3397

A ferroelectric memristor

André Chanthbouala·Vincent Garcia·Ryan O. Cherifi·Karim Bouzehouane·Stéphane Fusil·Xavier Moya·Stéphane Xavier·Hiroyuki Yamada·Cyrile Deranlot·Neil D. Mathur·Manuel Bibes·Agnès Barthélémy·Julie Grollier
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Abstract

Memristors are continuously tunable resistors that emulate synapses. Conceptualized in the 1970s, they traditionally operate by voltage-induced displacements of matter, but the mechanism remains controversial. Purely electronic memristors have recently emerged based on well-established physical phenomena with albeit modest resistance changes. Here we demonstrate that voltage-controlled domain configurations in ferroelectric tunnel barriers yield memristive behaviour with resistance variations exceeding two orders of magnitude and a 10 ns operation speed. Using models of ferroelectric-domain nucleation and growth we explain the quasi-continuous resistance variations and derive a simple analytical expression for the memristive effect. Our results suggest new opportunities for ferroelectrics as the hardware basis of future neuromorphic computational architectures.

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André Chanthbouala, Vincent Garcia, Ryan O. Cherifi, Karim Bouzehouane, Stéphane Fusil, Xavier Moya, Stéphane Xavier, Hiroyuki Yamada, Cyrile Deranlot, Neil D. Mathur, Manuel Bibes, Agnès Barthélémy, Julie Grollier. 2012-06-15. A ferroelectric memristor. https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat3415

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