HORIZON-2020: Research and Innovation Staff Exchange Action
Memristive and multiferroic materials for logic units in nanoelectronics
MELON
The most simplistic computational model of a neuron is an 'on-off' switch, with a '0' representing a resting state and a '1' representing an axon firing an action potential. While this lends itself well to conventional digital electronics and silicon-based transistors, it does not represent the incredible natural 'state' space of a real neuron. When it comes to realising the potential of a brain-like processing system, novel materials are needed. The EU-funded MELON project has created an expert consortium of academic institutions and an SME to explore novel materials with history-dependent conductivity to emulate neuronal connectivity. Together with materials capable of multivalued logic and interconnects, the team plans to deliver the building blocks of tomorrow's emergent computing circuits...
Develop the innovative material platform...
... to emulate self-organization of neuronal connections, ...
...and overcome the tyranny of the deterministic binary logic...
...to make a machine think like a human
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February 2025: Interview with Igor Lukyanchuk at the Asia International Peace Award – Philippine TV Broadcast
We work with neuromorphic nanomaterials to develop atomic-scale devices that use less energy, generate less heat, and store more information. These breakthroughs could revolutionize medicine, technology, and energy, shaping the foundation of future societies. Such powerful technologies have the potential to transform lives on a global scale. That’s why in our research, we support open science, academic freedom, and fair access to innovation, ensuring that these advances serve all of humanity on the planet..
April 2024, Joint PhD degree, Argentina-France
PhD defence was carried out jointly by CONICET, Argentina, and UPJV, France, within the framework of the MELON project.
PhD candidate Franco Nicolas Di Rino
Title: Topological excitations in ferroelectric nanoparticles”
Diego Rubi, “Memristive Devices: towards new bio-inspired electronics”
A major theoretical breakthrough on ferroelectrics has been published by MELON's researchers in Physics Reports, one of the most prestigious and highly cited journals in physics. The review, “Topological Foundations of Ferroelectricity,” lays the groundwork for using topological structures—like vortices, skyrmions, and Hopfions—in neuromorphic computing, a technology that mimics neural behavior for ultra-efficient data processing. By drawing analogies with fluid dynamics and applying advanced topological tools, the authors offer a unifying language to describe and control complex polarization textures in ferroelectric nanostructures—paving the way for reconfigurable, low-power hardware for future AI systems. This review brings topology to the heart of ferroelectric physics, with clear paths toward neuromorphic architectures. Read the open-access article in Physics Reports (Elsevier): https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physrep.2025.01.002 (2025)
The exponential growth of artificial intelligence has been fueled by advancements in hardware technologies, which have allowed us to tackle a wide variety of scientific and technological problems. One area that has seen significant progress is the development of neuromorphic computing materials, which seeks to mimic the structure and information-processing mechanisms of biological systems. MELON's researchers from Argentina in collaboration with Spain, and France made an important contribution to this field by adding new materials to the list of materials that can realize the behavior of both neurons and synapses on the same device. These new materials are phase-separated manganites, and their ability to function as both neurons and synapses could be a key feature for the development of neuromorphic computing hardware...
Multilevel devices demonstrating switchable polarization enable us to efficiently realize neuromorphic functionalities including synaptic plasticity and neuronal activity. MELON's researchers designed the ferroelectric unit comprising multiple nanodots for implementation of the topologically configurable non-binary logic cell and integrated it into a gate stack of the field-effect transistor as an analog-like device with resistive states. The devised ferroelectric multilevel devices provide a pathway toward the novel topologically-controlled implementation of discrete synaptic states in neuromorphic computing...
Neuromorphic Computing and Engineering (2023)
How manganite-based Memristor Behavior Impacts Faster Learning in Hardware Neural Networks
In a groundbreaking study focused on the emerging field of neuromorphic computing, MELON researchers from CONICET-centre, Argentina, have shed new light on the potential of oxide-based memristor arrays with cross-bar architecture. Neuromorphic computing aims to replicate the intricate and efficient workings of the mammalian brain, bridging the divide between biological and synthetic systems. Central to the study was the exploration of potentiation-depression (P-D) curves on various manganite-based memristive systems. The results indicate that by leveraging specific characteristics of manganite-based memristive systems, one can potentially optimize the design and performance of neuromorphic hardware, leading to faster and more efficient machine learning models.
The results are published in Physica Scripta, 98, 095917 (2023)
I will study Science!
Dr. Cynthia Quinteros, a member of MELON research project, presented an overview of the scientific life from the perspective of her own personal experiences. The presentation, organized in frame of the program ROOT, was devoted to unveil some myths regarding the archetypical figure of a scientist by the presentation of a real-life example, a woman scientist educated in a foreign in-development country. The talk was conducted in English with simultaneous translation to Dutch, and accompanied by an accordingly designed presentation. The engagement of the kids in the activity was evaluated as positive based on the questions formulated after the talk. The initiative ROOTS consists of a multilingual science programme for kids of 8 -12 years old and supported by the University of Groningen. Its main goal aimed to impact in the university’s neighbouring communities by promoting scientific vocations. See online ...
