Gamma radiation-induced nanodefects in diffusive memristors and artificial neurons
Gamma photons of the average energy of 1.25 MeV are well-known to generate large amounts of defects in semiconductor electronic devices. Here we investigate the novel effect of gamma radiation on diffusive memristors based on metallic silver nanoparticles dispersed in dielectric matrix of silica. Our experimental findings show that after exposing to radiation, the memristors and aritifical neurons made of them demonstrate much better performance in terms of stable volatile resistive switching and higher spiking frequencies, respectively, compared to the pristine samples. At the same time we observe partial oxidation of silver and reduction of silicon within the switching silica layer. We propose nanoinclusions of reduced silicon distributed across the silica layer to be the backbone for metallic nanoparticles to form conduction filaments, as supported by our theoretical simulations of radiation-induced changes in the diffusion process. Our findings propose a new opportunity to engineer required characteristics of diffusive memristors in order to emulate biological neurons and develop bio-inspired computational technology.
Funding
Neuromorphic memristive circuits to simulate inhibitory and excitatory dynamics of neuron networks: from physiological similarities to deep learning
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
Find out more...History
School
- Science
Department
- Physics
Published in
NanoscaleVolume
15Issue
38Pages
15665-15674Publisher
Royal Society of ChemistryVersion
- VoR (Version of Record)
Rights holder
© The AuthorsPublisher statement
This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).Acceptance date
2023-08-20Publication date
2023-08-31Copyright date
2023ISSN
2040-3364eISSN
2040-3372Publisher version
Language
- en