Abstract
The brain can perform massively parallel information processing while consuming only ~1- 100 fJ per synaptic event. Two-terminal memristors based on filament forming metal oxides (FFMOs) or phase change memory (PCM) materials have recently been demonstrated to function as non-volatile memory that can emulate neuronal and synaptic functions. Despite recent progress in the fabrication of device arrays however, to date no architecture has been shown to operate with the projected energy efficiency while maintaining high accuracy. A major impediment still exists at the device level, specifically, a resistive memory device has not yet been demonstrated with adequate electrical characteristics to fully realize the efficiency and performance gains of a neural architecture. I will describe a novel electrochemical neuromorphic device (ENODe) that switches at record-low energy (<0.1 fJ projected, <10 pJ measured) and voltage (< 1mV, measured), displays >500 distinct, non-volatile conductance states within a ~1 V operating range. The tunable resistance behaves very linearly, allowing blind updates in a neural network. We recently showed that combined with a Si access device we are able to achieve over 106 switching events with very little degradation. Furthermore, we were able to demonstrate that a moderately scaled device can switch with 1 µs pulses and can be read within 10 µs. I will discuss the working mechanism and paths towards further improvement in performance and stability in terms of scaling and materials requirements.
Biography
Alberto Salleo is currently an Associate Professor of Materials Science at Stanford University. Alberto Salleo graduated as a Fulbright Fellow with a PhD in Materials Science from UC Berkeley in 2001. From 2001 to 2005 Salleo was first post-doctoral research fellow and successively member of research staff at Xerox Palo Alto Research Center. In 2005 Salleo joined the Materials Science and Engineering Department at Stanford as an Assistant Professor and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2013. Salleo is a Principal Editor of MRS Communications since 2011. Since 2015 he is a Highly Cited Researcher in Materials Science.
While at Stanford, Salleo won the NSF Career Award, the 3M Untenured Faculty Award, the SPIE Early Career Award and the Tau Beta Pi Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award and the Gores Award for Excellence in Teaching, Stanford’s highest teaching honor.