Future of Engineering

An atomic force microscope image of a simple circuit with 17 memristors lined up in a row.

Researchers at HP Labs have solved a decades-old mystery by proving the existence of a fourth basic element in integrated circuits that could make it possible to develop computers that turn on and off like an electric light.

The memristor — short for memory resistor - could make it possible to develop far more energy-efficient computing systems with memories that retain information even after the power is off, so there's no wait for the system to boot up after turning the computer on. It may even be possible to create systems with some of the pattern-matching abilities of the human brain.

This invention, as is obvious, has huge potential in electronics. Well, simply put, if this works out according to plan, no RAM will be needed in our computers! In addition, this could result in analog computers that process information the way the human brain does.

This is what Wikipedia has to say:

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Memristors ("memory resistors") are a class of passive ideal two-terminal circuit elements that maintain a functional relationship between the time integrals of current and voltage. This results in resistance varying according to the device's memristance function. The definition of the memristor is based solely on fundamental circuit variables, similarly to the resistor, capacitor, and inductor. Unlike those more familiar elements, memristors may be described by any of a variety of time-varying functions. As a result, memristors do not belong to linear circuit models including time. A time-invariant memristor is simply a conventional resistor.

The Hewlett Packard memristor, based on a thin film of titanium dioxide, appears to be practical and ideal in its initial incarnation. However, as of yet, none have been reported outside HP. Being much simpler than currently popular MOSFET transistor switches and also able to implement one bit of memory in a single device, memristors may enable nanoscale computer technology. (Its inventor) Chua also speculates that they may be useful in the construction of artificial neural networks.

Memristors can implement memory on the principle that direct current applied in the component can adjust its apparent resistance. This resistance may then be observed using alternating current.
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While using memristors, the memory will be a part of the circuitry rather than a separate module; this will save valuable space. It can make possible for computers to power up instantly, cell phones will go much longer without a charge, and no information will ever be lost in case of power failures or battery death.

Scientists can now think about fabricating a new type of non-volatile random access memory (RAM) – or memory chips that don't forget what power state they were in when a computer is shut off. The big problem with DRAM today is that when you turn the power off on your PC, the DRAM forgets what was there. So the next time you turn the power on you've got to sit there and wait while all that you need to run your computer is loaded into the DRAM from the hard disk. With non-volatile RAM which could be possible using memristors, that process would be instantaneous and your PC would be in the same state as when you turned it off.

In addition to a better, non-volatile RAM, its inventors think memristors could also speed up neural computing. While a lot of researchers are currently trying to write a computer code that simulates brain function on a standard machine, they have to use huge machines with enormous processing power to simulate only tiny portions of the brain.

The memristor team feels these folks can now take a different approach: "Instead of writing a computer program to simulate a brain or simulate some brain function, we're actually looking to build some hardware based upon memristors that emulates brain-like functions".

The person originally behind this interesting invention, Leon Chua, had the idea of the memristor almost 37 years back!

Sources & Reference:
HP Labs
HP Labs Blog
Nature Journal

Labels: Computer-Science