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Tellurene Memristors for Neuromorphic Computing System Technology

(an ERC Proof-of-Concept)

Nowadays, big-data management and applications have placed a high demand on both the hardware performance level, e.g. access latency, storage capacity, cost performance, and on the cognitive level, e.g. data processing, architectures, and algorithms. The ever-growing pressure for big data creates urgent global challenges like energy consumption and memory efficiency. New device architectures beyond the von Neumann paradigm are demanded which are inspired by biological synaptic operativity towards the so-called neuromorphic computational scheme. The memristor is the more viable device emulating the synaptic behavior. Advanced materials are also required to make memristor-based circuits energetically sustainable as well as outperforming. The integration of 2D semiconductors in memristors is a promising path to tackle the above-mentioned global challenges within neuromorphic computation. In this scenario, here we take inspiration from the Xene portfolio of 2D single-element crystals developed in the ERC-CoG “XFab” project and we propose a single-element memristor cell design based on tellurene (nanoscale 2D tellurium) mimicking artificial synaptic behavior and thus enabling memristor applications. Tellurene offers solid advantages over other 2D players mainly deriving from the structural and chemical simplicity, the low thermal budget of its synthesis, and the versatility to adapt to rigid as well as flexible layouts. Our goals are the scalable production of tellurene standards and their integration in a single memristor cell and cross-bar arrays of memristors so as to achieve the fabrication of a neuromorphic circuit fully based on tellurene. The peculiar production process makes tellurene fit to delamination and transfer to any kind of surface, either rigid or flexible, flat or curve, and readily available for testing in edge-computing applications like environmental sensing signal elaboration. The translational purpose is to further up technology transfer of the developed products (either materials and processes) by retrieving stake-holders among small- and medium enterprises addressing the AI computing market with the help/advice from partner DayOne.

X2D

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