title: Tunnel junction based memristors as artificial synapses.
abstract: We prepared magnesia, tantalum oxide, and barium titanate based tunnel junction structures and investigated their memristive properties. The low amplitudes of the resistance change in these types of junctions are the major obstacle for their use. Here, we increased the amplitude of the resistance change from 10% up to 100%. Utilizing the memristive properties, we looked into the use of the junction structures as artificial synapses. We observed analogs of long-term potentiation, long-term depression and spike-time dependent plasticity in these simple two terminal devices. Finally, we suggest a possible pathway of these devices toward their integration in neuromorphic systems for storing analog synaptic weights and supporting the implementation of biologically plausible learning mechanisms.
authors.affiliation: Thin Films and Physics of Nanostructures, Bielefeld University Bielefeld, Germany ; IFW Dresden, Institute for Metallic Materials Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Andy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.affiliation: Thin Films and Physics of Nanostructures, Bielefeld University Bielefeld, Germany.
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Niehörster
authors.affiliation: Thin Films and Physics of Nanostructures, Bielefeld University Bielefeld, Germany.
authors.forename: Savio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fabretti
authors.affiliation: Thin Films and Physics of Nanostructures, Bielefeld University Bielefeld, Germany ; Cognitive Interaction Technology Center of Excellence and Faculty of Technology, Bielefeld University Bielefeld, Germany.
authors.forename: Norman
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shepheard
authors.affiliation: Fachbereich Physik and Center of Physics and Chemistry of New Materials, Osnabrück University Osnabrück, Germany.
authors.forename: Olga
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Kuschel
authors.affiliation: Fachbereich Physik and Center of Physics and Chemistry of New Materials, Osnabrück University Osnabrück, Germany.
authors.forename: Karsten
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Küpper
authors.affiliation: Fachbereich Physik and Center of Physics and Chemistry of New Materials, Osnabrück University Osnabrück, Germany.
authors.forename: Joachim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wollschläger
authors.affiliation: Thin Films and Physics of Nanostructures, Bielefeld University Bielefeld, Germany ; Physikalisch Technische Bundesanstalt Braunschweig, Germany.
authors.forename: Patryk
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Krzysteczko
authors.affiliation: Cognitive Interaction Technology Center of Excellence and Faculty of Technology, Bielefeld University Bielefeld, Germany.
authors.forename: Elisabetta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Chicca
keywords: artificial synapses; memristors; neuromorphic systems; synaptic plasticity; tunnel junction