R&D: Cryogenic Memory Array Based on Superconducting Memristors

Applied Physics Letters has published an article written by Shamiul Alam, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, USA, Md Shafayat Hossain, Department of Electrical Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA, and Ahmedullah Aziz, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, USA.

Abstract: “A scalable cryogenic memory system is one of the prime requirements for the implementation of practical quantum computers, large-scale single flux quantum circuits, and space electronics. Here, we leverage the memristive behavior of a conductance-asymmetric superconducting quantum interference device (CA SQUID) to design an ultra-fast and low-power memory system. We develop a physics-based circuit-compatible model for CA-SQUID-based superconducting memristors (ScMs). Using this compact model, we design and test an ScM-based nonvolatile cryogenic memory system and explore the design space. Via analyzing the sensitivity and tunability of the device hysteresis up to the array level, we provide a comprehensive guideline for its experimental realization. The ScM-based memory system has the potential to solve the scalability issue of the state-of-the-art superconducting data storage systems and may trigger rapid advancement in quantum computing, space electronics, and cryogenic neuromorphic systems.