Emerging Non-Volatile Memories and Beyond: From Fundamental Physics to Applications

In the present era of the Internet of Things, memories can be found almost everywhere. Servers, laptops, cameras, smartphones, IT-related devices, cars, traffic controlling systems, home appliances, all feature some non-volatile memories. Depending on devices and applications, memories of a different kind can be taken into consideration. The so-called emerging non-volatile memories, like PCM, RRAM, CBRAM, FeRAM, MRAM, STT-RAM have moved in the last couple of decades from a visionary idea to prototypes and beyond. However, despite the tremendous advances by the semiconductor industry bringing some of these memories at the production stage, several fundamental aspects of these technologies need to be unveiled, are partially understood, or are simply taken for granted, just relying on experimental evidence. There is still plenty of room for deeper fundamental knowledge, which is one of the bigger key building blocks for optimization and for the development of demonstrators of new applications.

Non-volatile memories represent nowadays an expanding business for the semiconductor industry and a notable opportunity for basic and applied research at any level. The long journey that links materials and their physical properties to large-scale products involves many phases like:
(a) fundamental research on fast switching phenomena between two or more distinct states that can be used to encode information;
(b) material optimization with respect to the state of the art, to overcome intrinsic weaknesses aiming at superior performances;
(c) early prototyping for assembling new memory concepts that go beyond the established architectures;
(d) testing and experimental characterization on one hand, and numerical modeling on the other hand in order to achieve a deeper on-field and theoretical knowledge about the main features of the memories;
(e) downscaling to increase the storage capability, including pioneering efforts to ultra scaled devices where quantum phenomena become prominent.
All of the above are possible only if a solid physical background is provided. This Research Topic aims at highlighting recent and important progress in the material-to-device chain, starting from the physics point of view. Novel applications of memory devices like, e.g., those in the fields of photonics, optoelectronics, and cognitive computing or technology-enabling breakthroughs are also welcome as long as they stem from the exploitation of a clear key, the peculiar physical property of the materials at hand.

This Research Topic is open to the contribution from scientists working on PCM, RRAM, CBRAM, FeRAM, MRAM, STT-RAM, and other emerging non-volatile memories. We call for Original Research articles, Brief Research Reports, Reviews and Perspective articles on themes including, but not limited to:
i. concepts for novel, unexplored non-volatile memories
ii. properties of materials for emerging non-volatile memories, e.g., PCM, RRAM, CBRAM, FeRAM, MRAM, STT-RAM
iii. physical modeling and simulations (also covering fundamentals of switching)
iv. material optimization
v. innovative selectors for memory arrays and crosspoint architectures (e.g., MIEC and OTS devices)
vi. quantum effects in non-volatile memories
vii. mixed optical-electrical memories, including metamaterials for photonic applications
viii. applications of non-volatile memories in beyond von-Neumann and neuromorphic computing.

Topic Editor Enrico Piccinini is currently an employee of Applied Materials Italy. All other Topic Editors declare no competing interests with regards to the Research Topic subject.