The “God Particle”: A New Hardware Technology
Group 7
Celeste Merriott, Stephen Baker, Caitlyn Shoemake, Amy Moudy
Key Words: Memristor; Non-Volatile Memory; Analog
Computing; Nanoscale
Memristor, or memory resistor, is an innovative, new hardware technology that is set to change the future of computing. For many years the elusive “Fourth Element” of electrical engineering was only a set of mathematical equations that couldn’t be proven. However, recently a group of scientists at HP labs have proven the existence of memristance and have even constructed a memristor. The Memristor is characterized by its ability to remember the amount of voltage that was running through it when it is turned off. The memristor is most effective in nanotechnology and has the potential to revolutionize computer memory and well as enable analog computing.
Until recently, the three basic circuit elements: the capacitor, resistor, and conductor were thought to be the only elements in an electrical circuit. However, in 1971 University of California, Berkeley Engineer Leon Chua theorized that there could and should be a fourth circuit element called a memory resistor. Chua published a paper detailing the element with mathematical equations. Unfortunately until the late 1990’s no one knew how to prove that the element actually existed. A group of scientists led by Stan Williams were able to create a memristor at HP Labs. A memristor is a circuit element that has the ability to remember its past (www.spectrum.ieee.org).
The memristor is a passive two-terminal electronic device that is built to express the property of memeristance. Memristance is described as a property in which the resistance increases when charge flows in one direction; decreases when charge flows in the opposite direction; and if the flow of charge is stopped the component will remember the last resistance it had. According to HP.com “An analogy for a memristor is an interesting type of pipe that expands or shrinks when water flows through it. If water flows through the pipe in one direction, the diameter of the pipe increases, thus enabling the water to flow faster. If the water flows through the pipe in the opposite direction, the diameter of the pipe decreases, thus slowing down the flow of water. If the water pressure is turned off, the pipe will retain its most recent diameter until the water is turned back on. Thus, the pipe does not store water like a bucket (or capacitor)-it remembers how much water flowed through it.”(www.hpl.hp.com)
The HP scientist built their memristor with titanium dioxide, an ingredient commonly used in sunscreen. Titanium dioxide is a semiconductor that can be “doped” with other elements to make it a conductor. Now that they know how to make a memristor HP labs is working on manufacturing them as well as combining them with a silicon circuit on the same chip. The implications of this discovery on the computing world are endless. One of the more clear objectives of the memristor is the possibility of creating a computer that never has to boot up. According to HP.com, “it would turn on and off like a light switch.” (www.hpl.hp.com)
The team expects to see the technology appear first as cache, but believe it could eventually replace both the hard drive and the RAM.
The group is also working on developing a “memristor-based nonvolatile memory.” According to Williams, “A memory based on memristance could be 100 times faster than magnetic disks and use much less power.”(www.spectrum.ieee.org) Another interesting use for the memristor is analog computing. Analog computing will allow for the processing of information in a manner that is similar to the way a human brain processes information. According to HP.com, “Chua himself noted the similarity between his own predictions of the properties for a memristor and what was then known about synapses in the brain.” The HP team is currently working on “a computer in which you don’t use 1s and 0s and instead use essentially all shades of gray in between.” This technology would allow computers to do things like make decisions, determining dimensions, and learning. (www.hpl.hp.com) The HP team would like to build hardware that simulates brain function based on memristor; as opposed to computer code that other researchers are formulating. This new hardware would improve facial recognition capabilities, as well as other biometric technologies.
Since memristance is best utilized at the nanoscale it will become more useful as electronic devices such as cell phones and video games require more memory and smaller devices. Memristor’s high memory, small-scale characteristics could even pit it as a rival against Jump Drive memory sticks. Other future possibilities include appliances that can learn from experience and a possible replacement of the transistor. A crossbar latch, placing two memristors together, can do the work of a transistor, but it much smaller and efficient.
As you can see, the memristor, and the technology that it could potentially enable, is quite astounding. From instant-on computers; analog computing; and rivaling the memory sticks; to replacing the transistor, memristor may very well live up to its “God Particle” legacy. In the future the importance of the memristor can only intensify as electronics continue to shrink in scale. What Leon Chua could only theorize in 1971 has finally come to fruition at the hands of some inventive scientists at HP labs. The fourth element, as allusive as it has been, may prove to be the most important one.
References
Adee, S. (2008). www.spectrum.ieee.org, The Mysteriour Memristor, Retrieved
September 20, 2008 from http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/may08/6207
Beckett, J. (2008). www.hpl.hp.com, Engineering Memristor, Retrieved
September 20, 2008, from http://www.hpl.hp.com/news/2008/apr-jun/engineering_memristor.html
www.memristor.org. (2008). What are
Memristors, Science Advocacy Through
Education, Retrieved September 23, 2008,
from http://www.memristor.org/reference/research/13/what-are-memristors
www.wikipedia.com. (2008). Memristor,
Retrieved September 23, 2008, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memristor
Memristor
Group 7
1. Memristor, or memory resistor, is an innovative, new hardware technology that is also known as the ________ element.
A. Second
B. Third
C. Fifth
D. Fourth
2. Memristor is characterized by its ability to remember what:
A. The amount of voltage that was running through it when it is turned off
B. How much transistor fluid it contained
C. The amount of power it takes to run it
D. Exactly what it was being used for
3. One of the implications of the discovery of memristor on the computing world could be:
A. Slower computers
B. The possibility of creating a computer that never has to boot up
C. An easier way to surf the internet
D. A more secure operating system
4. The memristor is most effective in what type of technology.
A. Vitrotechnology
B. Trebutechnology
C. Nanotechnology
D. Datatechnology
5. Who have proven the existence of memristance and have even constructed a memristor.
A. A kid by the name of Marlin Ramsey in his parent’s basement
B. A group of scientists at HP labs
C. A
small study group at the
D. A
professor at the