A compact memristor emulator for energy efficient neuron application

Abstract

This article presents a memristor emulator circuit, the first to employ only a single MOSFET and a single capacitor, achieving high frequency operation up to 50 MHz. The MOSFET operates in saturation with its gate and drain shorted, functioning as a current source to charge the capacitor and emulate memristive behavior. The design achieves low transient power consumption of 33 $\mu$W (NMOS) and 28 $\mu$W (PMOS) using 180 nm SCL technology in Cadence Virtuoso. Extensive analyses including frequency, transient, non-volatility performance, and process variation studies were performed and validated through pre- and post-layout simulations. Experimental verification using off-the-shelf components confirmed its practicality. As a key application, a spiking neuron circuit utilizing the emulator demonstrated biologically inspired spiking behavior, featuring a compact layout (66.16 $\mu$m $\times$ 95.11 $\mu$m), energy per spike of 4.07 pJ, and power consumption of 7.31 $\mu$W, underscoring its promise for low power neuromorphic computing.