Nanofluidic memristor by elastic deformation of nanopores with nanoparticles adsorption

Abstract The memristor is the building blocks for neuromorphic computing. Hereby we reported a new type of nanofluidic memristor, by the principle of elastic strain on the polymer nanopores. With nanoparticles absorbed at the wall of a single conical polymer nanopore, we found pinched hysteresis of a current within scanning frequency between 0.01Hz and 0.1Hz, but switching to a diode below 0.01Hz and a resistor above 0.1Hz. We attributed the current hysteresis to the elastic strain at the tip side of the nanopore, caused by electrical force on the particles adsorbed at the inner wall surface. Our simulation and analytical equations matched well with experimental results, with a phase diagram for predicting the system transitions. We demonstrated the plasticity of our nanofluidic memristor similar as a biological synapse. Our findings pave a new way for ionic neuromorphic computing using nanofluidic memristors.