Now scientists at Northwestern University have made a new breakthrough that may make possible brain-like computing capabilities.

Memristors are considered exciting for more than their potential to create brain-like computers. Unlike flash memory, they're fast. Unlike random access memory (RAM), they remember their state – whatever information they held – when they lose power. They also require less energy to operate, rarely crash, and are immune to radiation. The trouble is that they are two-terminal electronic devices, which results in them being tunable only through changes in the voltage applied externally.

The team at Northwestern transformed memristors from two-terminal to three-terminal electronic devices, thereby allowing their use in more complex electronic circuits and systems. The normal memristor setup as two-terminal devices allows only limited control over how electrical current flows through the system, but the third electrode used by the Northwestern researchers can act as a gate, finely controlling the resistance.