Experimental Demonstration of Memristor-Aided Logic (MAGIC) Using Valence Change Memory (VCM)

Abstract

Memristor-aided logic (MAGIC) is a technique for performing in-memory computing using memristive devices. The design of a MAGIC NOR gate has been described in detail, and it serves as the basic building block for several processing-in-memory architectures. However, the input stability of the MAGIC NOR gate forces a limitation on the threshold voltages: the magnitude of the set voltage must be higher than the magnitude of the reset voltage. Unfortunately, many of the current leading resistive switching technologies, particularly, valence change memory (VCM), have the opposite ratio between the threshold voltages. In this article, we experimentally demonstrate the undesirable effects of input instability. Furthermore, we introduce three new MAGIC gates for devices with low set-to-reset voltage ratios and experimentally demonstrate their robust operation using Pt/Ta 2 O 5 /W/Pt devices. The three gates, combined with constant values, are functionally complete and are demonstrated as building blocks for in-memory logic on VCM devices.