Neural oscillation of single silicon nanowire neuron device with no external bias voltage

Sola Woo,Sangsig Kim

doi:10.1038/s41598-022-07374-2

Abstract

In this study, we perform simulations to demonstrate neural oscillations in a single silicon nanowire neuron device comprising a gated p–n–p–n diode structure with no external bias lines. The neuron device emulates a biological neuron using interlinked positive and negative feedback loops, enabling neural oscillations with a high firing frequency of ~ 8 MHz and a low energy consumption of ~ 4.5 × 10−15 J. The neuron device provides a high integration density and low energy consumption for neuromorphic hardware. The periodic and aperiodic patterns of the neural oscillations depend on the amplitudes of the analog and digital input signals. Furthermore, the device characteristics, energy band diagram, and leaky integrate-and-fire operation of the neuron device are discussed.

Highlights

In this study, we perform simulations to demonstrate neural oscillations in a single silicon nanowire neuron device comprising a gated p–n–p–n diode structure with no external bias lines
Neuromorphic computation inspired by human brain architecture has great potential to overcome technical challenges in centralized and sequential computation based on the von Neumann a rchitecture[1–3]
In neuromorphic computation driven by spiking neural networks, an artificial neuron is an integral component that interlinks synapses, promoting fast and energy-efficient information processing

Summary

Introduction

We perform simulations to demonstrate neural oscillations in a single silicon nanowire neuron device comprising a gated p–n–p–n diode structure with no external bias lines. To improve the integration capabilities, diverse neuron devices and circuits have been widely researched: NPN devices with double gates on a silicon-on-insulator (SOI)[14], feedback field-effect transistors (FBFETs)[15–17], skyrmion devices based on magnetic tunnel junction[18], resistive random access memory (ReRAM)[19], conductive bridge random access memory (CBRAM)[20], ferroelectric field-effect transistors (FeFET)[21,22] and phase-change devices[23]. These neuron devices and circuits require numerous component transistors and consume considerable energy to operate in addition to external bias voltages necessary for tuning firing voltages. We propose a single silicon nanowire neuron device with no external bias voltage capable of normally-off integrate-and-fire operation technology, which achieves zero standby power

Methods

Discussion

Conclusion