NbOx based oscillation neuron for neuromorphic computing

Abstract

In a neuromorphic computing system, the complex CMOS neuron circuits have been the bottleneck for efficient implementation of weighted sum operation. The phenomenon of metal-insulator-transition (MIT) in strongly correlated oxides, such as NbO2, has shown the oscillation behavior in recent experiments. In this work, we propose using a MIT device to function as a compact oscillation neuron, achieving the same functionality as the CMOS neuron but occupying a much smaller area. Pt/NbOx/Pt devices are fabricated, exhibiting the threshold switching I-V hysteresis. When the NbOx device is connected with an external resistor (i.e., the synapse), the neuron membrane voltage starts a self-oscillation. We experimentally demonstrate that the oscillation frequency is proportional to the conductance of the synapse, showing its feasibility for integrating the weighted sum current. The switching speed measurement indicates that the oscillation frequency could achieve >33 MHz if parasitic capacitance can be eliminated.