FuSe-TG: Co-designing Novel Memristor Heterostructures for Brain Inspired Computers

Brain-inspired-computers (BICs) are of great interest, because BICs potentially can perform distinctive tasks that cannot be easily executed by conventional digital computers. Thus, BICs have the potential to transform how information is processed and stored. The key electronic component for BICs is a memristor- a device that can mimic the brain’s operation mode. This project aims to develop a new type of memristor by combining two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors and traditional memristor materials. Such a device is more energy efficient and reliable than current state-of-the-art memristors and is scalable. This goal requires a co-design process that involves a team of researchers with diverse expertise such as scalable material synthesis, atomistic simulations, atomic-scale structural and property characterization, device studies and circuitry modeling. This project enables such a co-design process by establishing a strong connection among this team of researchers and by constant knowledge sharing and implementation of feedback loops that can lead to timely adjustment of planning and methodology in the process. Developing such highly efficient and reliable key hardware components for BICs by utilizing various techniques in physics, materials sciences and electrical engineering can potentially revolutionize the field of BICs and the broad field of computing. The team building effort includes establishing an annual workshop that allows the faculty team members and their students to meet and discuss preliminary data and recent developments in the field, and work-force training not only for students directly involved in the project but also for those involved in various outreach programs in the local community the faculty team members actively engage in. The interdisciplinary teaming activities involved in this project will help develop a diverse workforce that focuses on future semiconducting industries and promote student members from underrepresented groups both in the local community and broad interdisciplinary academic communities. Memristors are key components for BICs as a memristor unifies information processing and storage, emulating the brain. The traditional transition metal oxide based memristor faces problems such as poor reliability, non-uniform device-to-device performance, low integration density, and high-power consumption. To overcome these problems, novel memristors based on heterostructures composed of atomically thin 2D materials and traditional memristor materials will be developed through a collective effort by members in this team. These memristor heterostructures operating under new mechanisms will take advantage of both 2D materials and traditional memristor materials to enable highly efficient and reliable resistive devices. This proposal aims to establish a team composed of materials scientists, physicists, and electrical engineers to co-design novel memristors for BICs. The co-design process involves four thrusts: 1) Atomic-level understanding of the operation mechanism of resistive switching of the 2D memristor and identifying suitable candidates for memristor components, including the electrodes, active resistive layer and the selector; 2) Experimental synthesis of all components in a scalable way and integration of these components into a working memristor; 3) Device design to optimize the functionalities of each component and yield the most energy-efficient and robust individual memristor that also performs well in a memristor array; 4) Neuronal circuit design to guide higher-scale integration of memristors to realize a small-scale BIC, with the view towards scalable BICs. This project will enable the team to develop a tight connection among the team members to efficiently co-design next generation memristors based on heterostructures composed of 2D materials and traditional memristor materials. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.