Investigation and Manipulation of Different Analog Behaviors of Memristor as Electronic Synapse for Neuromorphic Applications

Low-power and high-density electronic synapse is an important building block of brain-inspired systems. The recent advancement in memristor has provided an opportunity to advance electronic synapse design. However, a guideline on designing and manipulating the memristor’s analog behaviors is still lacking. In this work, we reveal that compliance current (I(comp)) of electroforming process played an important role in realizing a stable analog behavior, which is attributed to the generation of conical-type conductive filament. A proper I(comp) could result in a large conductance window, good stability, and low voltage analog switching. We further reveal that different pulse conditions can lead to three analog behaviors, where the conductance changes in monotonic increase, plateau after initial jump, and impulse-like shape, respectively. These behaviors could benefit the design of electronic synapse with enriched learning capabilities. This work will provide a useful guideline for designing and manipulating memristor as electronic synapses for brain-inspired systems.