Analysis of nonlinear passive pinched hysteresis generator circuits

Hysteresis is a cornerstone of threshold based switching circuits. The idea of pinched hysteresis has taken on a new relevance with the advent of the memory resistor. There are models in literature that employ nonlinear elements paired with passive phase shift to demonstrate pinched hysteresis. This work analyzes the suitability of passive models for demonstrating hysteresis with a representative passive circuit candidate. The computational model employed in this study analyzes lobe symmetry, lobe area, response at zero stimulus, linearity etc. to arrive at its conclusions. The computed results are validated against SPICE simulations with good agreement. This study shows that pinched hysteresis emulators implemented with passive, nonlinear element based phase shift may seem superficially satisfactory but fail analytical inspection.