Winner- Takes-All path formation within highly disordered nanowire networks

Abstract

Nanowire networks are promising memristive architectures for neuromorphic applications due to their connectivity and neurosynaptic-like behaviors. Here, we demonstrate a self-similar scaling of the conductance of networks and the junctions that comprise them. A particular class of junctions naturally leads to the emergence of conductance plateaus and a “winner-takes-all” conducting path which corresponds to the lowest-energy connectivity path. These results point to the possibility of independently addressing memory or conductance states in complex systems and is expected to have important implications for nanoelectronics and neuromorphic devices.