Memristor-based combinational circuits: A design methodology for encoders/decoders

The crossbar architecture is viewed as the most likely path towards novel nanotechnologies which are expected to continue the technological revolution. Memristor-based crossbars for integrating memory units have received considerable attention, though little work has been done concerning the implementation of logic. In this work we focus on memristor-based complex combinational circuits. Particularly, we present a design methodology for encoder and decoder circuits. Digital encoders are found in a variety of electronics multi-input combinational circuits (e.g. keyboards) nowadays, converting the logic level ‘1’ data at their inputs into an equivalent binary code at the output. Their counterparts, digital decoders, constitute critical components for nanoelectronics, mainly in peripheral/interface circuitry of nanoelectronic circuits and memory structures. The proposed methodology follows a CMOS-like design scheme which can be used for the efficient design and mapping of any 2ⁿ×n (n×2ⁿ) encoder (decoder) onto the memristor-based crossbar geometry. For their implementation, a hybrid nano/CMOS crossbar type with memristive cross-point structures and available transistors is elaborated, which is a promising solution to the interference between neighboring cross-point devices during access operation. Circuit functionality of the presented encoder/decoder circuits is exhibited with simulations conducted using a simulator environment which incorporates a versatile memristor device model. The proposed design and implementation paradigm constitutes a step towards novel computational architectures exploiting memristor-based logic circuits, and facilitating the design and integration of memristor-based encoder/decoder circuits with nanoelectronics applications of the near future.