nanoREV.

NanoRAM based on Memcapacitors and Meminductors

Last year researchers at Hewlett-Packard published a paper in Nature noting a link between materials used for a new type of non-volatile memory called RRAM and the theory of the memristor- a theoretical circuit element originally predicted in 1971 by UC Berkeley professor Leon Chua. The HP researchers demonstrated an increase in the memristance characteristics at nanometer scales producing lower power dissipation and higher speed switching as the thickness of the memristance material is reduced.  

However, one defect in the memristor is that it still includes some resistive heat dissipation. In order to overcome this problem Prof. Massimiliano Di Ventra and Prof Leon Chua have developed an extended theory of memcapacitors and meminductors which are similar to memristors but do not have the problem of heat dissipation. Their paper entitled “Circuit elements with memory: memristors, memcapacitors and meminductors” notes some examples of memcapacitive effects in various materials based on nanoparticle-based thin films and, in addition to the potential for non-volatile memory, suggests the applicability to neuromorphic computer architectures which may lead to a variety of new applications in the future.