File:Chua diode characteristic curve.svg

English: Current-voltage characteristic curve of Chua's diode or nonlinear resistor, a nonlinear electronic component used in Chua's circuit, a simple electronic circuit that displays chaotic behavior. Chua's circuit, invented by Leon Chua in 1983, is one of the simplest chaotic systems, and is widely used as a reference example of chaos. The function is piecewise-linear, made of three straight line segments. The inner segment has a slope (conductance) of G_a. The outer segments, which begin at the voltage breakpoint ±E have a shallower slope of G_b. The line is in the 2nd and 4th quadrants of the IV plane, which represents a negative resistance and so requires active (energy producing) elements like amplifiers in it. Typical circuits used to realize it consist of an op amp circuit called a negative impedance converter (NIC) in parallel with a resistor-diode network.