Memristor-Based Sensors and Metrology

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Hydrogen gas sensors have a high technological relevance for the automotive industries. Thin-film technology allows for mass-production of low-priced sensors using established processes that are also used in micro- and nanoelectronics. Disadvantages of thin-film sensors, in particular those for sensing hydrogen, are drift and degradation effects that limit the use in safety relevant applications. In this project, a novel sensor-type based on memristive elements is introduced. The resistive state of memristive elements can be switched between at least two different levels (high- and low-resistive state). It has been recently demonstrated that the resistance transition is based on complex redox phenomena on the nanoscale and that memristive elements are affected by the ambient. “Memristive sensing elements” (MSEs) will exploit these electrochemical interactions and will be the corner stones for development of novel thin-film sensors. These devices offer the potential that the sensor-functionality can be memristively calibrated, and drift- and degradation effects can be compensated by reprogramming schemes. In this project, MSEs will be fabricated and characterized. Advanced electrical, spectroscopic, and microscopic ex situ and in situ metrology techniques will be used to investigate fundamental physical and electrochemical phenomena. Physico-chemical models will be modified and extended based on these results. These findings will be eventually used for fabrication and optimization of low-cost, fast and reproducible memristive sensor elements for hydrogen sensing.