Understanding the Input Signal Frequency Effects on the Resistive Window of Memristors

As theoretically predicted by Prof. Chua, the input signal frequency has a major impact on the electrical behavior of memristors. According with one of the so-called fingerprints of such devices, the resistive window, i.e. the difference between the low and high resistance states, shrinks as the frequency increases for a given input signal amplitude. Physically, this effect stems from the incapability of ions/vacancies to follow the external electrical stimulus. In terms of the electrical behavior, the collapse of the resistive window can be ascribed to the shift of the set/reset voltages toward higher values. Moreover, for a given frequency, the resistance window increases with the signal amplitude. In this letter, we show that both phenomena are the two sides of the same coin and that can be consistently explained after considering the snapback effect and a balance model equation for the device memory state.