The Memristor
What is it? The world’s smallest memristive switch. (50 x 50 nanometers) Information storage device. A concentration of memory resistors. A passive two-terminal circuit elements that maintains a functional relationship between the time integrals of current and voltage.
What Is It? A type of electrical circuit. The fourth mystery element that joins the capacitor, resistor, and inductor.
Benefits of Memristor Provides greater resiliency and reliability when power is interrupted in data centers. Have great data density. Combines the jobs of working memory and hard drives into one tiny device. Faster and less expensive than MRAM.
Benefits of Memristor Uses less energy and produces less heat. Would allow for a quicker boot up since information is not lost when the device is turned off. Operating outside of 0s and 1s allows it to imitate brain functions. Eliminates the need to write computer programs that replicate small parts of the brain.
Benefits of Memristor Creating a Computer that never has to boot up. Does not lose information when turned off. Density allows for more information to be stored. Has the capacity to remember the charge that flows through it at a given point in time.
What Sets Memristor Apart? Conventional devices use only 0 and 1; Memristor can use anything between 0 and 1 (0.3, 0.8, 0.5, etc.) Faster than Flash memory. Allow digital cameras to take pictures with no delay inbetween. Innovating nanotechnology due to the fact that it performs better the smaller it becomes.
What Sets Memristor Apart? By changing the speed and strength of the current, it is possible to change the behavior of the device. A fast and hard current causes it to act as a digital device. A soft and slow current causes it to act as an analog device.
Future Technological Significance Hope to one day have a computer that processes information in the same way as the human brain. Gaining control over the device could lead to computers that actually learn. http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080501-maintaining-moores-law-with-new-memristor-circuits.html
Future Technological Significance Development of nonvolatile memory with a memristor base. HP is currently focusing on this possibility. Use less power. More magnetic than magnetic disks. Could lead to the replacement of the transistor. Appliances that “learn” from experiences.
Future Technological Significance Could be put in cell phones as monitoring devices to track pollution and other things in the environment. Used in common devices for unbelievable storage. Camera can take days worth of video with storage the size of an average thumb drive.
Key Terms Resistor - a two-terminal electronic component designed to oppose an electric current by producing a voltage drop between its terminals in proportion to the current. Inductor-a passive electrical component with significant inductance Capacitor- an electronic device that can store energy in the electric field between a pair of conductors.
Key Terms Nanotechnology- a field of applied science whose theme is the control of matter on an atomic and molecular scale. MRAM- ( Magnetoresistive Random Access Memory ) a non-volatile computer memory technology.