RF/microwave applications of memristors

Abstract

Memristor-based technology could be utilized, potentially, to enhance performance of many RF/microwave subsystems. Application of memristors in RF/microwave circuits, and in a broader context in electromagnetic systems, is another challenging field for researchers and engineers. In this application frontier, the research efforts might be divided, for example, into the following important classes of applications: (1) frequency selective surface, reconfigurable planar absorber, (2) reconfigurable antenna, direct antenna modulation, (3) RF/microwave filter, split-ring resonator filter, hairpin-line filter, capacitively coupled resonator filter, quasi-Gaussian lossy filter, (4) Wilkinson power divider. Memristors could be exploited as linear resistors with programmable resistance, which can be accurately adjusted to a desired or specified value. Precise controllability of the memristance value might be important for tuning microwave circuits and optimizing their performance. In several applications, such as filters, the high-frequency range of the operation enforces the memristor into the role of a linear resistor whose resistance can be adjusted electronically. On the other hand, some applications, such as reconfigurable electromagnetic absorbers, benefit from memristors as electromagnetic switches. Due to the unavailability of commercial memristors, it is necessary to use accurate circuit-level simulations for experimenting with the memristor-based RF/microwave circuits and for studying their performance. RF/microwave circuit simulators, which use the HSPICE engine for the time-domain transient simulation, such as NI AWR Microwave Office, can be used to verify the expected functionality of the considered memristor-based circuits.