A Wide Dynamic Range Read-out System For Resistive Switching Technology

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel wide-range read-out system for memristors, enabling accurate measurement of their resistance over a broad dynamic range for data storage and analog computing applications.

Contribution

A new feedback-adjusted read-out circuit with logarithmic amplification for precise memristance measurement across a wide current range.

Findings

Successfully measures input currents from 20nA to 2mA

Implemented in BCD Gen2 technology

Applicable to single memristor conductance and analog computing

Abstract

The memristor, because of its controllability over a wide dynamic range of resistance, has emerged as a promising device for data storage and analog computation. A major challenge is the accurate measurement of memristance over a wide dynamic range. In this paper, a novel read-out circuit with feedback adjustment is proposed to measure and digitise input current in the range between 20nA and 2mA. The magnitude of the input currents is estimated by a 5-stage logarithmic current-to-voltage amplifier which scales a linear analog-to-digital converter. This way the least significant bit tracks the absolute input magnitude. This circuit is applicable to reading single memristor conductance, and is also preferable in analog computing where read-out accuracy is particularly critical. The circuits have been realized in Bipolar-CMOS-DMOS (BCD) Gen2 technology.