Modern computation based on the von Neumann architecture is today a mature cutting-edge science. In the Von Neumann architecture, processing and memory units are implemented as separate blocks interchanging data intensively and continuously. This data transfer is responsible for a large part of the power consumption. The next generation computer technology is expected to solve problems at the exascale with 1018 calculations each second. Even though these future computers will be incredibly powerful, if they are based on von Neumann type architectures, they will consume between 20 and 30 megawatts of power and will not have intrinsic physically built-in capabilities to learn or deal with complex data as our brain does. These needs can be addressed by neuromorphic computing systems which are inspired by the biological concepts of the human brain. This new generation of computers has the potential to be used for the storage and processing of large amounts of digital information with much lower power consumption than conventional processors. Among their potential future applications, an important niche is moving the control from data centers to edge devices. The aim of this Roadmap is to present a snapshot of the present state of neuromorphic technology and provide an opinion on the challenges and opportunities that the future holds in the major areas of neuromorphic technology, namely materials, devices, neuromorphic circuits, neuromorphic algorithms, applications, and ethics. The Roadmap is a collection of perspectives where leading researchers in the neuromorphic community provide their own view about the current state and the future challenges for each research area. We hope that this Roadmap will be a useful resource by providing a concise yet comprehensive introduction to readers outside this field, for those who are just entering the field, as well as providing future perspectives for those who are well established in the neuromorphic computing community.
The control and rational design of redox-based memristive devices, which are highly attractive candidates for next-generation nonvolatile memory and logic applications, is complicated by competing and poorly understood switching mechanisms, which can result in two coexisting resistance hystereses that have opposite voltage polarity. These competing processes can be defined as regular and anomalous resistive switching. Despite significant characterization efforts, the complex nanoscale redox processes that drive anomalous resistive switching and their implications for current transport remain poorly understood. Here, lateral and vertical mapping of O vacancy concentrations is used during the operation of such devices in situ in an aberration corrected transmission electron microscope to explain the anomalous switching mechanism. It is found that an increase (decrease) in the overall O vacancy concentration within the device after positive (negative) biasing of the Schottky-type electrode is associated with the electrocatalytic release and reincorporation of oxygen at the electrode/oxide interface and is responsible for the resistance change. This fundamental insight presents a novel perspective on resistive switching processes and opens up new technological opportunities for the implementation of memristive devices, as anomalous switching can now be suppressed selectively or used deliberately to achieve the desirable so-called deep Reset.
A major obstacle for the implementation of redox-based memristive memory or logic technology is the large cycle-to-cycle and device-to-device variability. Here, we use spectromicroscopic photoemission threshold analysis and operando XAS analysis to experimentally investigate the microscopic origin of the variability. We find that some devices exhibit variations in the shape of the conductive filament or in the oxygen vacancy distribution at and around the filament. In other cases, even the location of the active filament changes from one cycle to the next. We propose that both effects originate from the coexistence of multiple (sub)filaments and that the active, current-carrying filament may change from cycle to cycle. These findings account for the observed variability in device performance and represent the scientific basis, rather than prior purely empirical engineering approaches, for developing stable memristive devices.
Redox‐based memristive devices are one of the most attractive candidates for future nonvolatile memory applications and neuromorphic circuits, and their performance is determined by redox processes and the corresponding oxygen‐ion dynamics. In this regard, brownmillerite SrFeO2.5 has been recently introduced as a novel material platform due to its exceptional oxygen‐ion transport properties for resistive‐switching memory devices. However, the underlying redox processes that give rise to resistive switching remain poorly understood. By using X‐ray absorption spectromicroscopy, it is demonstrated that the reversible redox‐based topotactic phase transition between the insulating brownmillerite phase, SrFeO2.5, and the conductive perovskite phase, SrFeO3, gives rise to the resistive‐switching properties of SrFeOx memristive devices. Furthermore, it is found that the electric‐field‐induced phase transition spreads over a large area in (001) oriented SrFeO2.5 devices, where oxygen vacancy channels are ordered along the in‐plane direction of the device. In contrast, (111)‐grown SrFeO2.5 devices with out‐of‐plane oriented oxygen vacancy channels, reaching from the bottom to the top electrode, show a localized phase transition. These findings provide detailed insight into the resistive‐switching mechanism in SrFeOx‐based memristive devices within the framework of metal–insulator topotactic phase transitions.
Among the novel materials for electronic applications and novel device concepts beyond classical Si‐based CMOS technology, SrTiO3 represents a prototype role model for functional oxide materials: It enables resistive switching, but can also form a 2D electron gas at its interface and thus enables tunable transistors. However, the interplay between charge carriers and defects in SrTiO3 is still under debate. Infrared spectroscopy offers the possibility to characterize structural and electronic properties of SrTiO3 in operando, but is hampered by the diffraction‐limited resolution. To overcome this limitation and obtain nanoscale IR spectra of donor‐doped Sr1‐xLaxTiO3 ceramics, scattering‐type scanning near‐field optical microscopy is applied. By exploiting plasmon–phonon coupling, the local electronic properties of doped SrTiO3 are quantified from a detailed spectroscopic analysis in the spectral range of the near‐field ‘phonon resonance’. Single crystal‐like mobility, an increase in charge carrier density N and an increase in ε∞ at grain boundaries (µ≈ 5.7 cm2 V−1s−1, N = 7.1 × 1019 cm−3, and ε∞ = 7.7) and local defects (µ≈ 5.4 cm2 V−1s−1, N = 1.3 × 1020 cm−3, and ε∞ = 8.8) are found. In future, subsurface quantification of defects and free charge carriers at interfaces and filaments in SrTiO3 can be envisioned.
The complex oxide compound praseodymium barium cobalt oxide (PBCO) is an efficient catalyst for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) during electrochemical water splitting, with an activity that is mainly ascribed to PBCO's inherent atomic structure and band alignment. Here, we report on epitaxial PBCO thin films showing electrocatalytic properties, with current densities of up to 10 mA/cm 2 at 1.8 V vs RHE. Dense PBCO thin films are synthesized in a disordered perovskite phase as well as in a coherently oxygen vacancy ordered (double) perovskite phase, in which oxygen vacancies are incorporated in every second CoO 2−δ atomic plane along the out-of-plane direction. The transition from disordered to ordered growth occurs with temperature control during the growth process and can be directly monitored in situ by means of reflection high-energy electron diffraction. The epitaxial fabrication process allows the control of the structure and phase of the oxide catalysts, providing model systems for exploring structure−property relations and atomistic processes of catalysis during the OER. For all structural compositions, we demonstrate remarkably similar catalytic properties, indicating a negligible effect of the structural bulk phase on OER catalysis. Rational design routes for perovskite catalysts derived merely from bulk properties should therefore be met with suspicion.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.