Memory loss in a tantalum oxide memristor

The tantalum oxide memristor may have a promising future as key element in innovative very-high speed ultra-low power extra-large density nonvolatile memories. It is therefore timely and relevant to investigate the nonlinear dynamics of this device in view of the interesting opportunities it may open up in the world of electronics in the years to come. In numerical simulations of an accurate model of the tantalum oxide memristor manufactured at Hewlett Packard Labs we observed a surprising phenomenon which was never reported earlier. Under AC periodic excitation the memristor exhibits unique asymptotic behaviour, irrespective of the initial condition. Thus the device may be stimulated in such a way to forget its past history. This memory erase effect, unexpected in a memristor device, is closely related to the concept of fading memory from nonlinear system theory, and was recently confirmed through experiments conducted on a sample device.