Graduate student Riley Bond and Professor Howard Katz added voltage to the transistor and observed its ability to retain a charge. Credit: Johns Hopkins University.
A team of researchers at Johns Hopkins University has made a surprising discovery that could change how memory works in electronic devices.
By modifying the materials in organic transistors—special switches used in electronics—they created a new kind of device called a memristor.
These memristors can remember past electrical charges, similar to how the human brain remembers experiences.
The findings, published in [_Advanced Functional Materials_,](https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202410763) may lead to more efficient and brain-like computers.
Graduate student Riley Bond, part of the research team, explained that the original goal was to understand how these transistors store electrical charges. The team wanted to improve the way the devices handled electricity to prevent short circuits when voltage was applied.
Under the leadership of Howard Katz, professor of materials science and engineering, the researchers added a special molecule called dibenzo tetrathiafulvalene (DBTTF) to the transistors. This molecule formed tiny crystals inside the insulating layer of the transistor, where the scientists expected charges would be trapped.
When they ran a small current through these modified transistors, the team was amazed to see that the devices “remembered” their previous charges. Unlike regular transistors, which reset completely each time they are charged, these new transistors adjusted their behavior based on past charges. This memory-like function is what makes them memristors.
“This was unexpected,” said Bond. “Ordinary transistors don’t retain past charges, but these did. It’s as if they remembered what happened before.”
Bond compared the memristor’s behavior to how the brain forms memories. “When we create new memories, connections form between neurons in the brain. Similarly, memristors adapt based on previous electrical inputs, making them work like a simplified version of the brain,” he explained.
This discovery could have a big impact on data storage and computing. Today, storing data requires massive energy and physical space. For example, storing a single gigabyte of data in the cloud involves about 48 billion transistors located in huge data centers.
“Transistors are already as small as they can get,” said Bond. “Using memristors instead of traditional transistors could reduce energy use, save space, and make computers more efficient.”
The team is now looking into other types of transistors to see if they can also display memristor behavior.
“This is just the beginning,” said Bond. “We’re excited to explore how this discovery could lead to new technologies.”
The development of these memory-like transistors is a step toward creating electronics that mimic the adaptability and efficiency of the human brain.