A memristor-based pixel implementing light-to-resistance conversion

This letter reports a pixel architecture that implements a light-to-resistance encoder exploiting the properties of a memristor. A light-to-frequency (L2F) converter is adopted to drive a memristor with pulses, thus changing its resistance according with the light intensity. In a conventional L2F implementation, a binary counter is needed to store the number of pulses generated within the exposure time (Ti). In the proposed circuit, the binary counter has been replaced with an analog counterpart, made of a single memristor. This turns into a smaller pixel pitch, compared with an all-CMOS solution and analog nonvolatile characteristics. The proposed circuit has been simulated in a 3.3 V, 0.35 μm CMOS process, while the memristor behavior relies on the HP model