New parallel computing architectures based on neuromorphic computing are needed due to their advantages over conventional computation with regards to real‐time processing of unstructured sensory data such as image, video, or voice. However, developing artificial neuromorphic system remains a challenge due to the lack of electronic synaptic devices, which can mimic all the functions of biological synapses with low energy consumption. Here it is reported that two‐terminal organometal trihalide perovskite (OTP) synaptic devices can mimic the neuromorphic learning and remembering process. Various functions known in biological synapses are demonstrated in OTP synaptic devices including four forms of spike‐timing‐dependent plasticity (STDP), spike‐rate‐dependent plasticity (SRDP), short‐term plasticity (STP) and long‐term potentiation (LTP)), and learning‐experience behavior. The excellent photovoltaic property of the OTP devices also enables photo‐read synaptic functions. The perovskite synapse has the potential of low energy consumption of femto‐Joule/(100 nm)2per event, which is close to the energy consumption of biological synapses. The demonstration of energy‐efficient OTP synaptic devices opens a new plausible application of OTP materials into neuromorphic devices, which offer the high connectivity and high density required for biomimic computing.
With the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) in computational devices technology, various synaptic array architectures are proposed for neuromorphic computing applications. Among them, the non‐volatile memory (NVM) architectures are very promising for their small cell size, ultra‐low energy consumption, and capability for large parallel data processing through 3D configurations capable of multilevel signal processing. Herein, the viability of such magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ)‐based synaptic devices via fabrication and characterization of multi‐junction spintronic devices is demonstrated, with the experimental results supported through micromagnetic simulations.
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10235915
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Advanced Intelligent Systems
- Volume:
- 2
- Issue:
- 12
- ISSN:
- 2640-4567
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Abstract Due to the increasing importance of artificial intelligence (AI), significant recent effort has been devoted to the development of neuromorphic circuits that seek to emulate the energy‐efficient information processing of the brain. While non‐volatile memory (NVM) based on resistive switches, phase‐change memory, and magnetic tunnel junctions has shown potential for implementing neural networks, additional multi‐terminal device concepts are required for more sophisticated bio‐realistic functions. Of particular interest are memtransistors based on low‐dimensional nanomaterials, which are capable of electrostatically tuning memory and learning behavior at the device level. Herein, a conceptual overview of the memtransistor is provided in the context of neuromorphic circuits. Recent progress is surveyed for memtransistors and related multi‐terminal NVM devices including dual‐gated floating‐gate memories, dual‐gated ferroelectric transistors, and dual‐gated van der Waals heterojunctions. The different materials systems and device architectures are classified based on the degree of control and relative tunability of synaptic behavior, with an emphasis on device concepts that harness the reduced dimensionality, weak electrostatic screening, and phase‐changes properties of nanomaterials. Finally, strategies for achieving wafer‐scale integration of memtransistors and multi‐terminal NVM devices are delineated, with specific attention given to the materials challenges for practical neuromorphic circuits.
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Introduction Understanding the neural code has been one of the central aims of neuroscience research for decades. Spikes are commonly referred to as the units of information transfer, but multi-unit activity (MUA) recordings are routinely analyzed in aggregate forms such as binned spike counts, peri-stimulus time histograms, firing rates, or population codes. Various forms of averaging also occur in the brain, from the spatial averaging of spikes within dendritic trees to their temporal averaging through synaptic dynamics. However, how these forms of averaging are related to each other or to the spatial and temporal units of information representation within the neural code has remained poorly understood.
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Discussion Our findings corroborate existing empirical practices of spatiotemporal binning and averaging in MUA data analysis, and provide a rigorous computational framework for optimizing the level of such aggregations. Our findings can also synthesize these empirical practices with existing knowledge of the various sources of biological averaging in the brain into a new theory of neural information processing in which the
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