Neuromorphic computing, which imitates the principle behind biological synapses with a high degree of parallelism, has recently emerged as a promising candidate for novel and sustainable computing technologies. The first step toward realizing a massively parallel neuromorphic system is to develop an artificial synapse capable of emulating synapse functionality, such as analog modulation, with ultralow power consumption and robust controllability. We begin this chapter with a simple description of neuromorphic systems and memristor synapses. Further, we introduce and evaluate the state-of-the-art neuromorphic hardware technology in terms of novel functional materials and device architectures toward the implementation of fully neuromorphic computers, which have been extensively explored in recent years. Finally, we briefly describe artificial neural networks based on memristor synapse in forms of crossbar arrays.
Part of the book: Memristors