Memristor was first proposed by Professor CAI Shaotang of the University of California, Berkeley in 1971. The concept is derived from the combination of 'Memory' and 'Resistor.' He believes that resistance, Capacitors and inductors represent the relationships among the four important elements of voltage, current, charge, and flux in electronics, but the element that represents the relationship between charge and magnetic flux has not yet existed and is therefore named memristor.
The characteristic of memristor is that the resistance is not fixed, will change due to the different charge passed, when the charge is no longer passed, the resistance will stay in the last through the value without change .If the charge is water flowing into the water pipe, The resistance is the diameter of the water pipe, which is like a water pipe that changes in thickness with the flow of water. If the amount of water (charge) flowing is large, the water pipe becomes thicker (resistance increases); if the amount of water (charge) , Then the water pipe will be thinner (resistance reduction); if the water stops, the water pipe will maintain the final diameter.
The use of memristor characteristics to create memory, even if the power is shut down to save the contents of the data, but also to a smaller space to store data, enough to replace the existing flash memory.In addition, memristors and human brain synapses May help simulate the characteristics of the human brain and accelerate the progress of artificial intelligence.But due to technical difficulties, the concept of memristor is only considered as a theoretical existence.
2007 HP (Hewlett-Packard) announced the team led by Richard Stanley Williams successfully developed a solid state memristor, this memristor inorganic titanium dioxide as a raw material to form a double-film.HP hit the abacus is not only the use of memristor replaced Flash memory, but also want to create a whole new type of computer.While HP announced in 2010 that it will cooperate with South Korean semiconductor company SK Hynix (SK Hynix) to introduce memristor products in 2013, but always stay in only Smell the stairs ring stage.
The international team of Singaporean universities, the Indian Association of Science Societies (IACS) and Yale University chose organic materials as raw materials to create a new memristor made of the transition metal ruthenium and the organic material 'azo-aromatic ligands' And even if the composition of organic molecules is quite stable.The new type of organic memristor in 50 nanoseconds to switch state, and can save data in non-power conditions up to 11 days.More importantly, this organic memristor Is neither uncommon nor dangerous, technically easy to manufacture and cost competitive with existing technologies, said team leader Thirumalai Venky Venkatesan, who will seek an industrial partner to take advantage of the material's capabilities.
Although it will take some time before it actually goes on the market, the true success of this memristor will greatly subvert the entire electronics industry and change people's everyday lives, given its capacity and features.