Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin - Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences - Statistical Physics and Nonlinear Dynamics & Stochastic Processes

The ‘memory resistor’ or memristor is a nonlinear electric circuit element whose resistance does not remain constant but depends on the history of the system. Proposed due to symmetry considerations by L. Chua in 1971, it was not experimentally realized until 2008. Together with the resistor, the capacitor and the inductor it encompasses the basic passive circuit elements. Possible applications include the replacement of RAM (random-access memory) with nonvolatile resistive RAM.

We will show that a lattice model with hopping ions agited by an external field reproduces the memristor effect and how by the help of a Burgers equation the underlying dynamics of oxygens vacancies can be interpreted the oxygen vacancies as nonlinear traveling waves. However, this model does not constitute an ideal memristor. Based on an adapted ideal memristor model, reasons for this divergence are suggested.