1. Memristor Fundamentals

The memristor is considered one of the most promising nano-devices among those currently being studied for possible use in electronic systems of the future. The best performance features which have been demonstrated in published experimental results regarding research device prototypes so far include fast switching speed, high endurance and data retention, low power consumption, high integration density, and (perhaps most importantly) CMOS compatibility. Undoubtedly, the combination of such advantageous characteristics in a single device justifies the phenomenal research interest that resistance-switching devices have generally attracted over the last few years and verify the existing rumors about their potential application in both storage and processing units of future electronic systems. Memristive nano-devices are the focus of this book and this chapter aims to introduce the reader to their fundamental properties on which the presented study is based.