Memristive devices and systems

Abstract

A broad generalization of memristors--a recently postulated circuit element--to an interesting class of nonlinear dynamical systems called memristive systems is introduced. These systems are unconventional in the sense that while they behave like resistive devices, they can be endowed with a rather exotic variety of dynamic characteristics. While possessing memory and exhibiting small-signal inductive or capacitive effects, they are incapable of energy discharge and they introduce no phase shift between the input and output waveforms. This zero-crossing property gives rise to a Lissajous figure which always passes through the origin. Memristive systems are hysteretic in the sense that their Lissajous figures vary with the excitation frequency. At very low frequencies, memristive systems are indistinguishable from nonlinear resistors while at extremely high frequencies, they reduce to linear resistors. These anomalous properties have misled and prevented the identification of many memristive devices and systems-including the thermistor, the Hodgkin-Huxley membrane circuit model, and the discharge tubes. Generic properties of memristive systems are derived and a canonic dynamical system model is presented along with an explicit algorithm for identifying the model parameters and functions.