On the analog computational characteristics of memristive networks

Abstract

Within a growing variety of systems that exhibit memristive behavior nowadays, most of the research has so far focused on the properties of these single devices, whereas very little is known about their response when they are organized into networks. In this work we study the composite characteristics of memristive elements connected in regular one-dimensional configurations. Using a nonlinear memristor model we carry out simulations and analyze the characteristics of complex memristor circuits, as well as investigate the relationships among the single devices. We show how composite memristive systems can be efficiently built out of individual memristive devices, presenting different electrical characteristics from their structural elements. Finally, we exploit the threshold-dependent nonlinear memristive behavior and elaborate the presented memristive networks to build analog computational circuits like a fully passive memristive analog decimal counter. The presented analysis provides intuition into the response of complex memristive networks and motivates for further elaboration of their composite and dynamic complexity for the creation of sophisticated memristive systems.