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Neuromorphic Spiking Neural Networks and Their Memristor-CMOS Hardware Implementations

Abstract

Inspired by biology, neuromorphic systems have been trying to emulate the human brain for decades, taking advantage of its massive parallelism and sparse information coding. Recently, several large-scale hardware projects have demonstrated the outstanding capabilities of this paradigm for applications related to sensory information processing. These systems allow for the implementation of massive neural networks with millions of neurons and billions of synapses. However, the realization of learning strategies in these systems consumes an important proportion of resources in terms of area and power. The recent development of nanoscale memristors that can be integrated with Complementary Metal–Oxide–Semiconductor (CMOS) technology opens a very promising solution to emulate the behavior of biological synapses. Therefore, hybrid memristor-CMOS approaches have been proposed to implement large-scale neural networks with learning capabilities, offering a scalable and lower-cost alternative to existing CMOS systems.

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Neuromorphic Spiking Neural Networks and Their Memristor-CMOS Hardware Implementations

Author: Camuñas Mesa, Luis Alejandro; Linares Barranco, Bernabé; Serrano Gotarredona, María Teresa
Publisher: MDPI
Year: 2019
DOI: 10.3390/ma12172745
Source: https://idus.us.es/bitstreams/13ce6996-3dac-4c31-b521-1153b85d49eb/download
ma e ials
Re iew
Neu omo phic Spiking Neu al Ne wo ks and Thei
Mem is o -CMOS Ha dwa e Implemen a ions
Luis A. Camuñas-Mesa * , Be nabé Lina es-Ba anco and Te esa Se ano-Go a edona
Ins i u o de Mic oelec ónica de Se illa (IMSE-CNM), CSIC and Uni e sidad de Se illa, 41092 Se illa, Spain
*Co espondence: [email p o ec ed]
Recei ed: 5 July 2019; Accep ed: 10 Augus 2019; Published: 27 Augus 2019


Abs ac :
Inspi ed by biology, neu omo phic sys ems ha e been ying o emula e he human b ain o
decades, aking ad an age o i s massi e pa allelism and spa se in o ma ion coding. Recen ly, se e al
la ge-scale ha dwa e p ojec s ha e demons a ed he ou s anding capabili ies o his pa adigm o
applica ions ela ed o senso y in o ma ion p ocessing. These sys ems allow o he implemen a ion o
massi e neu al ne wo ks wi h millions o neu ons and billions o synapses. Howe e , he ealiza ion
o lea ning s a egies in hese sys ems consumes an impo an p opo ion o esou ces in e ms
o a ea and powe . The ecen de elopmen o nanoscale mem is o s ha can be in eg a ed wi h
Complemen a y Me al–Oxide–Semiconduc o (CMOS) echnology opens a e y p omising solu ion
o emula e he beha io o biological synapses. The e o e, hyb id mem is o -CMOS app oaches
ha e been p oposed o implemen la ge-scale neu al ne wo ks wi h lea ning capabili ies, o e ing a
scalable and lowe -cos al e na i e o exis ing CMOS sys ems.
Keywo ds:
neu omo phic sys ems; spiking neu al ne wo ks; mem is o s; spike- iming-dependen
plas ici y
1. In oduc ion
The ou s anding e olu ion o compu e s du ing he las 50 yea s has been based on he
a chi ec u e p oposed by Von Neumann in he 1940s [
1
]. In his model o s o ed-p og amme compu e ,
da a s o age and p ocessing a e wo independen asks pe o med in sepa a ed a eas wi h a high
need o da a communica ion be ween hem. Wi h he de elopmen o in eg a ed ci cui s, Go don
Moo e p edic ed in he 1960s ha he numbe o ansis o s in an in eg a ed ci cui would double
e e y
18 o 24 mon hs
[
2
]. This exponen ial e olu ion allowed o he de elopmen o mo e e icien
compu ing sys ems, wi h inc easing p ocessing speed and dec easing powe consump ion. Howe e ,
e en he cu en echnologies o semiconduc o manu ac u ing a e eaching he limi s o Moo e’s
law [
3
],
so di e en
solu ions ha e been p oposed o keep he u u e e olu ion o p ocessing sys ems [
4
].
Two di e en
s a egies sugges he de elopmen o new p ocessing pa adigms and no el de ices
beyond con en ional Complemen a y Me al–Oxide–Semiconduc o (CMOS) echnologies.
In pa allel wi h he de elopmen o compu ing pla o ms, in he 1960s some esea che s used he
eme ging elec onic echnologies as a mechanism o modeling neu al sys ems, om indi idual
neu ons [
5
–
10
] o mo e complex ne wo ks [
11
]. The inc easing unde s anding o he s uc u e
and undamen al p inciples o beha io o he human b ain e ealed a e y di e en p ocessing
pa adigm om he adi ional compu e a chi ec u e wi h a much be e pe o mance. E en when
compa ing wi h cu en supe compu e s which excel a speed and p ecision, he human b ain is s ill
much mo e powe ul when dealing wi h no el y, complexi y and ambigui y o p ac ical asks like
isual ecogni ion and mo ion con ol, while p esen ing a negligible powe consump ion a ound
20W [
12
]. This compa ison be ween con en ional compu e s and he b ain led o he eme gence o
neu omo phic compu ing. The e m neu omo phic enginee ing was i s coined by Ca e Mead
Ma e ials 2019,12, 2745; doi:10.3390/ma12172745 www.mdpi.com/jou nal/ma e ials
Ma e ials 2019,12, 2745 2 o 28
o e e o de eloping mic oelec onic in o ma ion p ocessing sys ems mimicking he ope a ion o
hei biological coun e pa s [
13
,
14
]. Du ing he 1980s, Ca e Mead highligh ed he analogy be ween
he physics in biological neu ons and he beha io o ansis o s in sub- h eshold egime [
13
,
14
],
de eloping neu al ne wo ks based on analog ci cui s; leading o he implemen a ion o he i s
silicon e inas [
15
] and p oposing a new compu ing pa adigm whe e da a and p ocessing asks a e
pe o med by indi isible en i ies, aking inspi a ion om biological neu al sys ems. Along he yea s,
he neu omo phic enginee ing ield has b oaden i s inspi a ion. Today’s neu omo phic compu ing
enginee s no only y o mimic he highly pa allel a chi ec u e o biological b ains and he use
o in-memo y compu ing a chi ec u es as a way o imp o ing he speed and ene gy pe o mance,
bu also ha e deeply s udied he signal in o ma ion encoding, compu a ional p inciples and lea ning
pa adigms ha enable e en simple biological b ains wi h admi ing pe o mance in he in e ac ion and
adap a ion o complex and unexpec ed en i onmen s wi h high eac ion speeds and minimal powe
consump ion despi e elying on e y simple and highly un eliable compu a ion uni s [16].
Al e na i ely, many no el beyond-CMOS echnologies ha e been p oposed o o e come he
limi s o Moo e’s law. One o he mos p omising a ailable de ices is he nanoscale mem is o .
The mem is o was i s desc ibed heo e ically by Chua in he 1970s as he ou h passi e elemen
es ablishing a ela ionship be ween elec ic cha ge and magne ic lux [
17
]. Much la e in 2008,
a eam a HP Labs claimed o ha e ound Chua’s mem is o expe imen ally based on a hin ilm o
i anium oxide [
18
]. This 2- e minal de ice beha es as a a iable esis o whose alue can be modi ed
by applying ce ain ol ages o cu en s. The mos common s uc u e o his de ice is a union
me al-dielec ic(s)-me al, whe e he dielec ic laye can be as hin as a ew nanome e s. The applica ion
o elec ic ields and con olled cu en s ac oss he dielec ic p oduces an al e a ion o i s esis ance
by g owing a ilamen o o he mechanisms like ba ie modula ion.
Cu en ly a ailable
mem is o s
a e mos ly bina y de ices, as hey can swi ch be ween wo esis ance alues: HRS (High-Resis ance
S a e) and LRS (Low-Resis ance S a e) [
19
]. Since he appea ance o he mem is o s, many logic
amilies based on mem is o s o digi al compu a ion ha e been p oposed [
20
,
21
], hei po en ial as
digi al long- e m non- ola ile memo y echnology has also been demons a ed [
22
–
25
], and hei
use as biosensing de ices looks also p omising [
26
]. In he ield o neu omo phic enginee ing,
he mem is o s ha e a ac ed a special in e es due o i s pa icula plas ici y beha iou which
essembles he adap a ion ules obse ed in biological synapses. Mem is o s can adap and change i s
beha iou o e ime in esponse o di e en s imula ion pa e ns as i happens in he human b ain.
In pa icula , i has been demons a ed ha i s imula ed wi h pulse- ains simula ing he inpu om
spiking neu ons, mem is o s may exhibi a biologically inspi ed lea ning ule [27–30] esembling he
spike- iming-dependen plas ici y (STDP) obse ed in biological neu ons [
31
–
36
]. Hence, mem is o s
ha e been conside ed as a i icial ino ganic synapses.
In his pape , we analyze he cu en end owa ds using mem is o s o e CMOS pla o ms
o implemen neu omo phic sys ems, demons a ing a new pa adigm which o e comes cu en
limi a ions in con en ional p ocessing sys ems. In Sec ion 2, we gi e a gene al o e iew o
he basis o neu omo phic compu ing, while in Sec ion 3we e iew he main la ge-scale CMOS
ha dwa e implemen a ions o neu omo phic sys ems. In Sec ion 4, we desc ibe p oposed hyb id
Mem is o -CMOS app oaches, while in Sec ion 5we emphasize he sui abili y o his s a egy o
implemen lea ning algo i hms in neu al sys ems. Finally, in Sec ion 6we gi e ou u u e pe spec i e
o his ield.
2. Neu omo phic Compu ing
As al eady s a ed, neu omo phic compu ing sys ems ake inspi a ion on he a chi ec u e,
he echnology and he compu a ional p inciples o biological b ains. Mo phologically, he human
b ain is composed o app oxima ely 10
11
elemen a y p ocessing uni s called neu ons, massi ely
in e connec ed by plas ic adap able in e connec ions called synapses. Each neu on connec s
app oxima ely o 10
3
–10
4
o he neu ons h ough synap ic connec ions. The neu ons a e known
Ma e ials 2019,12, 2745 3 o 28
o be dis ibu ed in laye s, and mos o he synap ic in e connec ions a e de o ed o in e connec
neu ons belonging o successi e laye s.
The i s compu ing sys ems inspi ed by his s uc u e o biological b ains we e published in he
1940s–1950s and we e called A i icial Neu al Ne wo ks (ANNs) [
37
,
38
]. They appea ed as powe ul
compu a ional ools ha p o ed o sol e, by i e a i ely aining algo i hms ha adap ed he s eng h
o he in e connec ion weigh s, complex pa e n ecogni ion, classi ica ion o unc ion es ima ion
p oblems no amenable o be sol ed by analy ic ools. The i s gene a ions o neu al ne wo ks did no
in ol e any no ion o ime no any empo al aspec in he compu a ion.
Mc Culloch and Pi s, p oposed in 1943, one o he i s compu a ional models o he biological
neu ons. Figu e 1illus a es he ope a ion o each p oposed neu al compu a ional uni . As illus a ed
in Figu e 1, a neu on
Nj
ecei es inpu s om
n
o he p e ious neu ons
x1
,
x2
, ...,
xn
. The ou pu
o each neu on
x1
,
x2
, ...,
xn
in he p e ious laye is mul iplied by he co esponding synap ic
weigh
w1j
,
w2j
, ...,
wnj
, also know as synap ic e icacy. The combined weigh ed inpu is ans o med
ma hema ically using a ce ain non-linea ans e unc ion o an ac i a ion unc ion
ϕ
, gene a ing an
ou pu
oj
. In he o iginal Mc Culloch and Pi s’ neu al model he ac i a ion unc ion was a h esholding
ga e, gi ing as neu al ou pu a digi al signal [
37
]. This digi al ou pu neu on was he co e o he i s
gene a ion o neu al ne wo ks.
Figu e 1.
Diag am o an a i icial neu on wi h n inpu s wi h hei co esponding synap ic weigh s.
All weigh ed
inpu s a e added and an ac i a ion unc ion con ols he gene a ion o he ou pu signal.
In 1958, Rosenbla p oposed he pe cep on. The a chi ec u e o he pe cep on is shown in
Figu e 2a. In Figu e 2, he compu a ional uni s o neu ons a e ep esen ed by ci cles, in e connec ed
h ough ainable weigh s ep esen ing he synap ic connec ions. The o iginal pe cep on consis ed o
a single laye o inpu neu ons ully in e connec ed in a eed o wa d way o a laye o ou pu neu ons.
A lea ning hebbian ule [
39
] o adap he weigh s was p oposed [
38
]. This single laye pe cep on was
able o sol e only linea ly sepa able p oblems [40].
In he 1950–60s, a second gene a ion o compu a ional uni s a ose we e he h esholding ac i a ion
unc ion was eplaced by a con inuous analog alued ou pu like a smoo h sigmoid, adial basis
unc ion o a con inuous piece-wise linea unc ion [
41
,
42
]. Recen ly, he ec i ying non-linea ac i a ion
unc ion, also known as ReLU has become e y popula o i s be e aining con e gence and i s
ha dwa e iendly implemen a ion [
43
]. Fu he mo e, g adien descen based lea ning algo i hms
could be now applied o op imize he ne wo k weigh s. Al e na i e lea ning ules we e p oposed
as he del a ule based on he Leas Mean Squa es (LSM) algo i hm published by Wid ow [
44
,
45
].
This second gene a ion p o ed o be uni e sal app oxima o s o any analog con inuous unc ion,
ha is, any analog con inuous unc ion could be app oxima ed by a ne wo k o his ype wi h a single
hidden uni [41].
Ma e ials 2019,12, 2745 4 o 28
Figu e 2.
(
a
) A chi ec u e o a single laye pe cep on. The a chi ec u e consis s o a laye on inpu
neu ons ully connec ed o a single laye o ou pu neu ons. (
b
) Ex ension o a mul i-laye pe cep on
including mo e han one laye o ainable weigh s. In his example, he ne wo k includes 3 laye s:
inpu , hidden and ou pu laye . Each connec ion be ween wo neu ons is gi en by a ce ain weigh .
The backp opaga ion algo i hm ex ended he applica ion o he g adien descen echniques
o ne wo ks wi h any numbe o hidden laye s, popula ly known as Deep Neu al Ne wo ks
(DNNs) [46–48].
Figu e 2b illus a es a case wi h 3 laye s: a i s laye o inpu neu ons, a second
laye o hidden neu ons, and a hi d laye o ou pu neu ons, al hough a gene al a chi ec u e can
con ain any gi en numbe o hidden laye s.
The ANN a chi ec u es shown in Figu e 2a,b a e pu e eed o wa d a chi ec u es as he signal
p opaga es om inpu o ou pu in an unidi ec ional way. O he a chi ec u es, known as ecu en
neu al ne wo ks, including eedback connec ions om uppe laye s in he a chi ec u e o lowe
laye s, ha e been p oposed. The Adap i e Resonance Theo y (ART) a chi ec u es by G ossbe g [
49
],
he Kohonen sel -o ganizing maps [
50
] o he Hop ield models [
51
] can be ci ed among he
pionee ing ones.
The p esen ed ANNs ha e been ypically de eloped in so wa e, and ained o line. The aining
o DNNs equi es a as amoun o anno a ed da a o co ec ly gene alize he p oblem wi hou
o e i ing [
52
] and in ensi e compu a ion esou ces. Howe e , in ecen yea s, he inc ease in he
compu a ion capabili ies o mode n compu e s and he a ailabili y o as amoun s o in o ma ion
ha e made DNN e y popula allowing he de elopmen o many DNN-based applica ions [
53
,
54
]
ha use complex a chi ec u es like LeNe o handw i en digi ecogni ion [
55
], Mic oso ’s speech
ecogni ion sys em [
56
] o AlexNe o image ecogni ion [
43
]. As a consequence we ha e wi nessed
he explosion o DNNs and machine lea ning.
Despi e he imp essi e ad ances ha DNNs ha e demons a ed in ecen yea s, hei pe o mance
in e ms o e iciency (speed and powe consump ion) compa ed wi h he human b ain is s ill low
as i is low hei esemblance o he human b ain in e ms o in o ma ion coding. In he biological
b ain, he in o ma ion is p ocessed in a con inuous way in ime, no jus as a sequence o s a ic ames
as DNNs ecogni ion sys ems do. Fu he mo e, in con en ional DNNs, he ou pu o he di e en
neu al laye s a e compu ed in a sequen ial way. Each laye has o wai un il he ou pu o he p e ious
laye has been compu ed o pe o m i s compu a ion, hus in oducing a signi ican ecogni ion delay
in he ne wo k. On he con a y, biological neu ons ansmi hei in o ma ion o he nex neu onal
laye s in he o m o spikes. Whene e a neu on emi s a spike, he spike is ansmi ed o i s a e en
connec ed neu ons and p ocessed wi h jus he delay o he synap ic connec ion. In 1996, Tho pe
demons a ed ha he human b ain was able o ecognize a isual amilia objec in he ime ha
jus one spike p opaga es h ough all he laye s o he isual co ex [
57
]. Simila isual p ocessing
Ma e ials 2019,12, 2745 5 o 28
speeds ha e been measu ed in he macaque monkeys by Rolls [
58
]. These expe imen s e eal an
ex emely e icien in o ma ion coding in he biological b ains. In his con ex , he 3 d gene a ion o
neu al ne wo ks, spiking neu al ne wo ks (SNNs), aims o b idge he gap be ween neu oscience and
machine lea ning, using biologically- ealis ic models o neu ons o ca y ou in o ma ion coding and
compu a ion ying o ully exploi he e iciency in he spa io- empo al signal coding and p ocessing
and he co esponding powe e iciency obse ed in he biological b ains. SNNs ope a e using spikes
in a simila way as biological neu ons do. Tha way, in addi ion o he s a e o he neu on and he
synap ic weigh , SNNs also inco po a e he concep o ime in o hei model o ope a ion. In hese
neu ons, he e is no p opaga ion cycle, so each neu on i es an ou pu spike only when i s s a e
eaches a ce ain h eshold. The e o e, he in o ma ion lows in hese ne wo ks a e spike ains which
p opaga e be ween neu ons asynch onously, and empo al co ela ion be ween spikes is c ucial [
41
].
Spike ains o e he possibili y o exploi ing he ichness o he empo al in o ma ion con ained in
eal-wo ld senso y da a. This allows SNNs o be applied o sol e asks which dynamically changing
in o ma ion like isual ges u e ecogni ion o speech ecogni ion in a mo e na u al way han cu en
con en ional (non spiking) a i icial in elligen sys ems do. When dealing wi h dynamic in o ma ion
(as ideo sequences), con en ional a i icial sys ems pe o m compu a ions using sequences o s a ic
images sampled a a cons an pe iodic ime (pho og am ime in he case o ision). Recogni ion o
dynamic sequences may in ol e he use o ecu en neu al ne wo k a chi ec u es o he esolu ion o
con inuous ime di e en ial equa ions. These compu a ions a e qui e in ensi e using con en ional
amed ANN. Howe e , he use o SNN whe e compu a ion is d i en in a con inuous ime way
na u ally and d i en only by he occu ence o spikes de ec ing ce ain spa io- empo al co ela ions
can be much mo e ad an ageous.
Many di e en coding me hods o hese spike ains ha e been p oposed. Many au ho s ha e
p oposed o code he ac i i y le el o he neu ons as he equency o he i ing a e. Howe e , his ype
o coding does no bene i om he spike spa si y ha should cha ac e ize SNN p ocessing and hus,
i does no enable he co esponding low powe communica ion and compu a ion due o he spa si y o
he spike coding. Rega ding he as compu a ion capabili y expec ed om SNN, his i ing a e coding
in oduces a la ency in he compu a ion o he ou pu i ing a e. Fu he mo e, i is no biologically
plausible as e idenced by he expe imen s o Tho pe [
57
] and Rolls [
58
] which demons a ed ha he
compu a ion o a single co ical a ea is comple ed in 10–20 ms while he i ing a e o he neu ons
in ol ed in he compu a ion is below 100 Hz, which does no make possible he compu a ion based on
he coding o analog a iables in i ing a es. Howe e , as discussed by Tho pe e al. [
59
], he e a e
many o he biologically plausible and mo e e icien coding s a egies. O he coding schemes ha ha e
been conside ed a e in he iming be ween spikes [
60
], in he delay ela i e o a gi en synch oniza ion
ime also known as ime o i s spike (TFS) [
59
] encoding, jus coding he alues in he o de o spikes
which is known as ank o de coding [61], o synch onous de ec ion coding [59].
Rega ding he SNN neu on models, he e a e many neu on models ha desc ibe he beha iou o
biological neu ons wi h di e en le els o complexi y [
5
–
10
]. The classic Hodgkin-Huxley model [
5
] is
a 4- h o de biophysical model ha desc ibes he beha iou o he cu en s lowing in o he neu on ion
channels in a biologically ealis ic way. Howe e , due o i s complexi y, di e en 2nd o de simpli ied
models ha e been p oposed like he one p oposed by Fi zHugh and Nagumo [
6
,
7
] and he Mo is-Leca
model [
8
], among o he s. In he las yea s, he Izhike ich model [
10
] and he Adap i e Exponen ial
In eg a e and Fi e (AdEx) model [
9
] ha e become e y popula o hei abili y o ep oduce a la ge
a ie y o spiking egimes obse ed in he biological neu ons jus by a ying a educed numbe o
model pa ame e s. Howe e , while de ailed biophysical models can ep oduce elec ophisiological
ac i i y o biological neu ons wi h g ea accu acy, hey a e di icul o analyze compu a ionally and no
iendly o ha dwa e implemen a ions. Because o hese easons, o compu a ional pu poses simple
i s -o de phenomenological models like he In eg a e and Fi e model a e equen ly used.
The beha io o a single in eg a e-and- i e spiking neu on is illus a ed in Figu e 3. A spiking
neu on ecei es inpu spikes om se e al dend i es and sends ou spikes om i s ou pu axon,

Ma e ials 2019,12, 2745 6 o 28
as shown in Figu e 3a. E e y ime an inpu spike a i es, he s a e o he neu on is upda ed, and when
i eaches he h eshold, i gene a es an ou pu spike and ese i s s a e, as seen in Figu e 3b. In his
case, spikes a e ully cha ac e ized by hei i ing ime. In Figu e 3, i can be obse ed ha he e is a
cons an slope decay o he memb ane po en ial be ween wo a i ing spikes as i is he case o a leaky
in eg a e and i e neu on. Ma hema ically, a leaky in eg a e-and- i e neu on can be desc ibed as:
iin( ) = mem( )− es
R+Cd mem( )
d (1)
whe e
mem( )
ep esen s he memb ane po en ial,
iin( )
he injec ed cu en ,
es
he es ing
alue o he memb ane po en ial,
C
he equi alen capaci ance o he memb ane, and
R
he leak
esis ance. A leaky in eg a e-and- i e neu on can be easily implemen ed in ha dwa e ollowing he
esis ance-capaci ance (RC) " ex book" concep scheme p esen ed in Figu e 4, whe e an inpu cu en
iin
is in eg a ed in capaci o
C
wi h leak esis ance
R
. The in eg a ed ol age
mem
is compa ed wi h
a e e ence
h
, gene a ing an ou pu gi en by
ou
. Addi ionally, in eg a e-and- i e neu ons may
conside a e ac o y pe iod ha o ces a minimum ime in e al be ween wo consecu i e spikes o a
neu on. A comp ehensi e o e iew o ci cui ealiza ions o spiking neu ons wi h di e en le els o
complexi y can be ound in [62].
Figu e 3.
Illus a ion o he beha io o a leaky in eg a e-and- i e spiking neu on. (
a
) A spiking neu on
ecei es spikes om se e al inpu s, p ocesses hem, and gene a es ou pu spikes om i s ou pu node.
(
b
) Tempo al e olu ion o he neu on s a e while i ecei es inpu spikes. When he h eshold is eached,
i gene a es an ou pu spike.
Figu e 4. Example o a ha dwa e implemen a ion o an RC leaky in eg a e-and- i e neu on.
Ma e ials 2019,12, 2745 7 o 28
In e ms o connec i i y, he mos gene al ype o neu al ne wo k is ully connec ed, meaning
ha each single neu on in laye
i
is connec ed o all neu ons in laye
i+
1. This scheme applies no
limi a ion o he lea ning capabili ies o he ne wo k; howe e , i p esen s some di icul ies o p ac ical
implemen a ions. A e y popula way o educing he amoun o in e connec ions is ep esen ed by
Con olu ional Neu al Ne wo ks (Con Ne s), whe e each neu on in laye
i
is connec ed o a subse
o neu ons in laye
i+
1 ep esen ing a p ojec i e ield. This ecep i e ield can be ep esen ed as
a con olu ional ke nel, wi h sha ed weigh s o each laye [
63
]. This scheme is inspi ed by biology,
as i has been obse ed in he isual co ex [
64
]. In a simila way o he biological isual co ex,
his con olu ional
neu al ne wo k a chi ec u e is commonly used o image p ocessing applica ions in
he ea lie mo e massi e pa allel ea u e ex ac ion laye s, as i implies an impo an educ ion o he
numbe o connec ions.
Table 1(adap ed om [
65
]) con ains a compa ison o he main dis inc i e ea u es be ween ANNs
and SNNs. As p e iously s a ed, he la ency in each compu a ion s age in an ANN is high as he whole
compu a ion in each s age has o be comple ed on he inpu image o gene a e he co esponding
ou pu . On he con a y, in an SNN p ocesso he compu a ion is pe o med spike by spike so ha ,
ou pu spikes in a compu a ional laye a e gene a ed as soon as enough spikes e idencing he exis ence
o a ce ain ea u e has been collec ed. In ha way, he ou pu o a compu a ion s age is a low o spikes
ha is almos simul aneous wi h i s inpu spike low. This p ope y o SNN sys ems has been called
“pseudo-simul anei y” [
65
,
66
]. The la ency be ween he inpu and ou pu spike lows o a p ocessing
SNN con olu ion laye has been measu ed o be as low as 155 ns [
67
]. Rega ding he ecogni ion speed,
whe eas in an ANN he ecogni ion speed is s ongly dependen on he compu a ion capabili ies o
he ha dwa e and he numbe o o al ope a ions o be compu ed (which is dependen on he sys em
complexi y), in an SNN, each inpu spike is p ocessed in almos eal ime by he p ocessing ha dwa e
and he ecogni ion is pe o med as soon as he e a e enough inpu e en s ha allow he sys em o
ake a decision. This ecogni ion speed s ongly depends on he inpu s a is ics and signal coding
schemes as p e iously discussed. In e ms o powe consump ion, he ANNs powe depends on he
consump ion o he p ocesso and he memo y eading and w i ing ope a ions bu o a gi ing inpu
sampling equency and size does no depend on he pa icula isual s imulus. Howe e , in an SNN,
he powe consump ion depends also s ongly on he s a is ics o he s imulus and coding s a egies.
I e icien coding s a egies a e used, he sys em should bene i om he powe e iciency o spa se
spike ep esen a ions.
On he nega i e side, as i has been al eady poin ed ou , he addi ion o he ime a iable
makes SNN neu on models mo e complex han ANN ones. Also, as he compu a ion o ANN is
ime-sampled, in each sampling ime he algo i hmic compu a ion is pe o med using he a ailable
ha dwa e esou ces ha can be ime mul iplexed by e ching da a and s o ing in e media e a iables.
Howe e , in ue SNN he spikes should be p ocessed as hey a e gene a ed in eal ime, equi ing
pa allel ha dwa e esou ces which canno be mul iplexed. The scaling up o he sys em can be done by
modula expansion o he ha dwa e esou ces.
Howe e , whe e SNN should ha e majo ad an age is in applica ions equi ing ecu en neu al
a chi ec u es, such as, in ecogni ion o dynamic s imulus. The compu a ion o ecu en connec ions in
ANN equi es compu a ionally in ensi e i e a ions un il con e gence is eached, while he con e gence
o ecu en connec ions in SNN is almos ins an aneous due o hei pseudo-simul anei y p ope y.
In e ms o accu acy, as i will be discussed in Sec ion 5, he lea ning me hods ha ha e been
de eloped o ANN a e no di ec ly applicable o SNN. Al hough he lea ning heo y o SNN s ill lacks
behind i s equi alen me hods o ANN, some ecen wo k epo s o he same a chi ec u e an e o
inc emen o only 0.15% o he ImageNe da ase and 0.38% o he CIFAR10 da ase [
68
]. Howe e ,
he empo al dependence in oduces complexi y so ha once a SNN has been ained, i s accu acy
d ops i he inpu empo al coding changes. Bu i also in oduces he po en ial o ecognize dynamic
sequences in a mo e e icien way.
Ma e ials 2019,12, 2745 8 o 28
Table 1. Table compa ing di e en ea u es o ANNs and SNNs.
Fea u e ANN SNN
Da a p ocessing F ame-based Spike-based
La ency High Low
Pseudo-simul anei y
Time esolu ion Low High
P ese a ion o spa io- empo al
co ela ion
Time p ocessing Sampled Con inuous
Neu on model complexi y Low High
Recogni ion accu acy Highe Lowe
Ha dwa e mul iplexing Possible No possible
Sys em scale-up Ad hoc Adding modules
Recogni ion speed Low High
Independen on inpu s imulus Dependen on inpu s a is ics
Dependen on ha dwa e esou ces
Dependen on sys em complexi y No dependen on sys em complexi y
Powe consump ion De e mined by p ocesso powe De e mined by powe -pe -e en
and memo y e ching p ocessing in modules
Independen on inpu s imulus Dependen on s imulus s a is ics
Recu en opologies Need o i e a e un il con e ge Ins an aneous
3. CMOS Neu omo phic Sys ems
Simula ing SNNs on no mal ha dwa e is e y compu a ionally-in ensi e since i equi es simula ing
coupled di e en ial equa ions o la ge neu on popula ions unning in pa allel. Fully exploi ing he
coding and compu a ion capabili ies o biological b ains equi es he adequacy o he co esponding
ha dwa e pla o m o he peculia i ies o he algo i hm a di e en le els: om signal coding up o high
le el a chi ec u es. A he a chi ec u al le el, he in insic pa allelism o neu al ne wo ks lends o he
de elopmen o neu omo phic cus om pa allel ha dwa e esembling he a chi ec u e o he biological
b ain o emula e i s compu ing capabili ies [
62
,
69
,
70
]. Fu he mo e,
a he signal
le el, SNNs a e be e
sui ed han ANNs o ha dwa e implemen a ion, as neu ons a e ac i e only when hey ecei e an
inpu spike, educing powe consump ion and simpli ying compu a ion.
One o he majo issues when ying o implemen in a pa allel ha dwa e la ge a ays o neu al
popula ions is he implemen a ion o he synap ic in e connec ions. In a pa allel 2D ha dwa e,
he physical wi ing does allow o implemen connec ions be ween jus neighbou ing neu ons,
while he
biological neu ons a e dis ibu ed in 3D and massi ely in e connec ed among popula ions.
Add ess-E en -Rep esen a ion (AER) [
71
] is an asynch onous communica ion p o ocol ha was
concei ed o massi ely in e connec neu on popula ions ha can be loca ed in he same o di e en
chips as a ‘ i ual wi ing’ sys em. Figu e 5illus a es wo neu al popula ions communica ed h ough
an AER bus. In he pa icula case o his igu e, neu ons in he emi e popula ion code hei ac i i y
as a densi y o ou pu pulses which is p opo ional o hei ac i a ion le el. Howe e , he AER
communica ion scheme can be applied o any ype o pulse signal encoding [
59
]. Whene e a neu on
in he emi e popula ion gene a es a spike, i codes i s physical coo dina es
(x
,
y)
o add ess in a
digi al wo d in a as digi al bus and ac i a es an asynch onous eques (Rqs ) signal. The coded
add ess is sen h ough he as digi al bus o he ecei e popula ion. Upon ecep ion o an ac i e
eques , he ecei e decodes he a i ing neu on add ess and ac i a es he acknowledge (Ack) signal.
The ecei ed pulse can be sen o he co esponding neu on whe e he o iginal ac i i y o he sending
neu ons can be ep oduced (as illus a ed in Figu e 5) o o a g oup o i ually connec ed neu ons in
he ecei ing popula ion implemen ing a p ojec ion ield [
72
]. The high-speed o he in e -popula ion
digi al bus (in he o de o nanoseconds) compa ed o he in e spike in e al o biological neu ons
(in he o de o milliseconds) allows o mul iplex he connec ions o a million neu ons in a sha ed
ime-mul iplexed digi al bus. Mos o he de eloped la ge-scale CMOS neu omo phic compu ing
Ma e ials 2019,12, 2745 9 o 28
pla o ms make use o his AER communica ion p o ocol. As neu omo phic sys ems ha e scaled up in
size and a chi ec u al complexi y, many a ia ions o he o iginal poin - o-poin AER communica ion
scheme [
71
,
73
,
74
] ha e been p oposed ying o imp o e he o e all sys em communica ion bandwid h.
The b oadcas -mesh-AER [
75
–
77
] p oposes a gene ic app oach o in e connec a mesh o AER de ices
using a global mappe and in e connec ing he de ices in a chain a chi ec u e. The p e-s uc u ed
hie a chical AER app oach [
78
] uses he knowledge o he ne wo k opology o in e connec AER
de ices h ough di e en AER links. Mappe s can be used in e e y link, howe e , once he
AER de ices ha e been physically in e connec ed he changes in he con igu a ion a e limi ed.
The Hie a chical-F ac al AER [
79
] p oposes di e en le els o in e connec ion by adding add ess
bi s a highe le el based on he idea ha he a ic o spikes is going o be mo e in ense a a
local le el. The ou e -mesh AER [
80
] p oposes o a oid an ex e nal mappe by placing a ou e
wi h a mapping able inside e e y AER module aking ideas om adi ional NoC opologies [
81
].
The mul icas ing-mesh AER app oach [
82
] p oposes a simpli ica ion o he ou e -mesh AER by
employing ou ing ables ha con ain only in o ma ion o he connec i i y be ween modules ins ead
o allowing ull neu on o neu on connec i i y p og amming. Ano he app oach de eloped o allow
p og ammable in e connec ions inside he same chip o a wa e scale has been o implemen massi e
p og ammable c oss-poin in e connec s o con igu e he ne wo k opology [
83
] and including o -wa e
e ou ing o longe ange in e connec s [
84
]. Recen ly, he Hie a chical Rou ing AER has been
p oposed ha es ablishes di e en hie a chical le els o nes ed AER links whe e each link has a
dynamically econ igu able synap ic ou ing able which allows p og ammable connec i i y o he
neu ons wi hou es ic ion on he spa ial ange o connec i i y [
85
]. Mo adi e al. ha e p oposed
a mixed-mode hie a chical-mesh ou ing scheme ha exploi s a clus e ed connec i i y s uc u e o
educe memo y equi emen s and ge a balance among memo y o e head and econ igu abili y [86].
Figu e 5.
Illus a ion o wo neu al popula ions communica ed h ough a poin - o-poin AER bus. Each
neu on in he emi e popula ion can be i ually connec ed o e e y neu on in he ecei e popula ion.
The abo e men ioned spike ou ing schemes ha e allowed he implemen a ion o highly pa allel
massi ely in e connec ed spiking neu al ne wo ks and he mul ichip in eg a ion o SNN ha dwa e
de o ed o ealize di e en speci ic pa s o he cogni i e unc ion including in eg a ion o spike-based
senso s and neu al p ocesso s.
CMOS spike-based ision senso s ha e been de eloped since he e y beginning o he
neu omo phic enginee ing ield [
15
]. Since hen, a a ie y o AER isual senso s can be ound in he
li e a u e ha use di e en app oaches o encode he luminance such as simple luminance o equency
ans o ma ion senso s [
87
], Time- o-Fi s -Spike (TFS) coding senso s [
88
–
91
], o ea ed senso s [
92
,
93
],
senso s encoding he spa ial con as [
94
,
95
], spa ial and empo al il e ing senso s ha adap o
illumina ion and spa io- empo al con as [
96
] and empo al ansien de ec o s [
97
–
104
]. Among hem,
he empo al ansien de ec o s also know as Dynamic Vision Senso s (DVSs) ha e ecen ly become
Ma e ials 2019,12, 2745 16 o 28
damage due o ansien high-cu en s. When he ansis o de ice is omi ed, he cu en limi a ion
is done in he pe iphe al CMOS ci cui y, limi ing he size o he a ay o educe he isk o local
high pa asi ic ansien cu en s. In he 1T1R s uc u es, he ansis o also ac s as a selec ion de ice
o upda e indi idually each mem is o a oiding al e a ion o he nea by de ices. As a summa y,
al hough mem is o s a e a e y p omising echnology o implemen high-densi y analog memo ies
close o he compu ing sys em ha could po en ially implemen high-speed low powe lea ning
cogni i e sys em, he e a e s ill some echnological limi a ions ha a e cu en ly being in es iga ed
ha ha e no allowed o implemen such la ge scale sys ems.
5. Lea ning wi h Mem is o s (STDP)
Gi en ha hese SNNs a e mo e powe ul, in heo y, han 2nd gene a ion ne wo ks, i is na u al o
wonde why we do no see widesp ead use o hem. One main issue ha cu en ly lies in p ac ical use
o SNNs is ha o aining. Lea ning mechanisms a e c ucial o he abili y o neu omo phic sys ems
o adap o speci ic applica ions. In gene al, he goal o a lea ning algo i hm is o modi y he weigh s o
he synap ic connec ions be ween neu ons in o de o imp o e he esponse o he ne wo k o a ce ain
s imulus. Two main ca ego ies can be conside ed: supe ised o unsupe ised lea ning. In supe ised
lea ning, he da ase samples a e labeled wi h he iden i ica ion o he expec ed ‘co ec ’ ne wo k
ou pu . The measu ed de ia ion be ween he desi ed ou pu and he eal one is used o modi y he
synap ic weigh s. In unsupe ised lea ning, he e is no labeled in o ma ion, so he own cha ac e is ics
o he inpu da a a e analyzed by he ne wo k in o de o sel -o ganize.
As explained in Sec ion 2, in he ANN ield, he powe ul compu a ional capabili ies o mode n
GPUs and CPUs and he a ailabili y o la ge amoun o anno a ed da a ha e made possible o ain
complex deep lea ning a chi ec u es using he supe ised backp opaga ion lea ning algo i hm [
48
] o
sol e complex cogni i e p oblems in some cases wi h be e accu acy han humans. Howe e , he e
a e no known e ec i e supe ised aining me hods o SNNs ha o e highe pe o mance han 2nd
gene a ion ne wo ks. The popula backp opaga ion lea ning s a egies a e no di ec ly usable in SNN
ne wo ks. On he one hand, i spikes a e ep esen ed compu a ionally as he occu ence o an ou pu
e en a a pa icula ime (as ep esen ed in Figu e 3) hey a e no di e en iable; on he o he hand,
di e en ia ing he e o back ac oss he spa ial laye s (as i is done in he backp opaga ion algo i hm)
looses he p ecise empo al in o ma ion con ained in he spike imings. The e o e, in o de o p ope ly
use SNNs o eal-wo ld asks, we would need o de elop an e ec i e supe ised lea ning me hod
ha akes space and ime simul aneously in o accoun [
163
]. Se e al app oaches o SNN aining
ha e been adop ed:
T aining an ANN and con e sion o SNN
[
66
,
164
–
167
]. Some au ho s ha e p oposed ANN o
SNN di ec con e sion me hods which a e based on he aining o ANN using s a ic inpu images
and di ec ly mapping he ne wo k o an SNN con e ing he inpu s imulus o spikes using equency
a e encoding [
164
,
165
,
167
]. Bodo e al. implemen ed se e al op imiza ions achie ing o a a e coded
inpu simila pe o mance han equi alen ANN implemen a ions [
165
]. Howe e , such encoding
educes he powe e iciency o SNN. O he au ho s ha e p oposed o ain SNN wi h senso y da a
coming di ec ly om a spike-based senso (as a DVS eco ding). Fo ha pu pose, an equi alen
ANN using s a ic images gene a ed om his og ams o he inpu eco dings o spiking s imulus
is ained. A e wa ds, a me hod o con e he weigh s o he ANN o he co esponding SNN is
de ised [
66
]. The addi ional iming pa ame e s as leakage ime o e ac o y pe iod cha ac e is ics
o SNN a e op imized as hype -pa ame e s in he SNN esul ing on di e en op imized pa ame e
alues o di e en inpu dynamics. Bodo e al. ecen ly p oposed an ANN o SNN con e sion me hod
based on ime- o- i s -spike inpu con e sion code [
166
]. In all o hese me hods, aining is done on
s a ic images and hus hey do no ully exploi di ec ly all he spa io- empo al in o ma ion con ained
in he e en s.
Supe ised aining in he spiking domain
. Fo he abo e men ioned eason, some me hods
o di ec supe ised lea ning in he spiking domain ha e been p oposed [
168
–
179
]. Some o he

Ma e ials 2019,12, 2745 17 o 28
ea lie SNN aining me hods we e based on an adap a ion o he Del a Lea ning Rule [
44
] and we e
app op ia e o ain single laye a chi ec u es [
169
,
171
,
172
]. Mo e ecen SNN lea ning me hods ha e
been epo ed ha y o apply he backp opaga ion lea ning ules o SNN wi h se e al lea ning
laye s. They include coding he spike imes o ha e a di e en iable ela ionship wi h a subse o
p e ious spikes and hence compa ible wi h he g adien descen back-p opaga ion ule in he empo al
domain [
180
], o app oxima ing he spike shape esponse ac i i y o be di e en iable ac oss neu al
laye s [
174
,
175
,
177
]. Wu e al. in oduced an SNN Spa io-Tempo al BackP opaga ion algo i hm [
177
].
No only do hey app oxima e he spike shape as a con inuous di e en iable unc ion, bu also hey
use a back-p opaga ion- h ough- ime (BTT) [
163
] which backp opaga es he e o in he space as
well as he ime dimension epo ing he bes ecogni ion accu acy achie ed by p e iously epo ed
SNN on he MNIST and N-MNIST da ase s and equi alen o he s a e-o - he-a o ANNs. Simila ly,
he SLAYER me hod [
178
] conside s back-p opaga ion in space and ime and ains bo h weigh s and
delays o he synap ic connec ions.
Unsupe ised aining in he spiking domain
. The unsupe ised SNN aining me hods a e
mos ly based on he well known Spike-Timing-Dependen Plas ici y (STDP) lea ning ule [
31
,
32
]. STDP
is a Hebbian lea ning ule. The adi ional Hebbian synap ic plas ici y ule was o mula ed in 1940
sugges ing ha synapses inc ease hei e iciency i hey pe sis en ly ake pa in i ing he pos -synap ic
neu on [
39
]. Much la e in 1993, STDP lea ning algo i hms we e epo ed [
31
,
32
] as a e inemen o his
ule aking in o accoun he p ecise ela i e iming o indi idual p e- and pos -synap ic spikes, and no
hei a e age a es o e ime. In compa ison wi h adi ional Hebbian co ela ion-based plas ici y,
STDP p o ed o be be e sui ed o explaining b ain co ical phenomena [
181
,
182
], and demons a ed
o be success ul in lea ning hidden spiking pa e ns [
183
] o pe o ming compe i i e spike pa e n
lea ning [
184
]. In e es ingly, sho ly a e ha , in 1997, STDP lea ning was expe imen ally obse ed
in biological neu ons [
33
–
35
]. Figu e 9a,b illus a e he STDP lea ning ule as obse ed in biological
synapses. Figu e 9a plo s a p esynap ic neu on wi h a memb ane po en ial
Vp e
which is connec ed
h ough a synapse wi h synap ic s eng h
w
o a pos synap ic neu on wi h memb ane po en ial
Vpos
.
The p esynap ic neu on emi s a spike a ime
p e
which con ibu es o he gene a ion o a pos synap ic
spike a ime
pos
. The biological lea ning ule obse ed by Bi and Poo is illus a ed in Figu e 9b.
When he wo connec ed neu ons gene a e spikes close in ime, i
∆T= pos − p e
is posi i e, meaning
ha he p esynap ic pulse con ibu ed causally o gene a e he pos synap ic pulse, he e is a posi i e
a ia ion in he e icacy o he synap ic connec ion
ξ(∆T)>
0; on he con a y, i
∆T= pos − p e
is
nega i e, he a ia ion in he e icacy o he synap ic connec ion
ξ(∆T)<
0 is nega i e. Being STDP
a local lea ning ule, and mem is o s wo- e minal de ices exhibi ing plas ici y con olled by he
local applied ol age/cu en o hei e minals con e s mem is o s as ideal candida es o implemen
high-densi y on-line STDP-based neu omo phic lea ning sys ems [
27
]. Lina es e al. [
28
] showed ha
by combining he mem is ance model o mula ed in Equa ion (2) wi h he elec ical wa e signals
o neu al impulses (spikes) as shaped in Figu e 9c applied o he p e- and pos -synap ic e minals
o he mem is i e synap ic-like de ice, he STDP beha io shown in Figu e 9d eme ges na u ally.
Conside ing he ma hema ical equa ion desc ibing he spike shape shown in Figu e 9c e sus ime
spk( ) =















A+
mp e /τ+−e +
ail/τ+
1−e +
ail/τ+i − +
ail < <0
A−
mp e− /τ−−e− −
ail/τ−
1−e− −
ail/τ−i 0< < −
ail
0o he wise
(5)
and a mem is i e synapse-like de ice whe e a p esynap ic spike
spk( )
wi h a enua ion
αp e
a i es a
ime
o i s nega i e e minal and a pos synap ic spike
spk( +∆T)
wi h a enua ion
αpos
a i es a
ime +∆T o i s posi i e e minal, a ol age di e ence
Ma e ials 2019,12, 2745 18 o 28
MR( +∆T) = αposspk( +∆T)−αp espk( )(6)
is gene a ed among he de ice e minals. The o al change in he mem is ance pa ame e
w
can hus
be compu ed as,
∆w(∆T) = Z MR( MR( +∆T))d =ξ(∆T)(7)
In e es ingly, o he mem is o model conside ed in Equa ion (2) and he spike shape conside ed
in Equa ion (5), he mem is ance lea ning ule shown in Figu e 9d
ξ(∆T)
is ob ained which esembles
he STDP ule obse ed by Ge s ne in biological neu ons. By playing wi h he spike shapes, many
o he STDP upda e ules can be uned as demons a ed by Zama eño e al. [29,30].
Figu e 9.
Illus a ion o STDP lea ning ule. (
a
) P e-synap ic neu on gene a ing a spike
Vp e
a ime
p e
ha a i es o a pos -synap ic neu on ha gene a es a spike
Vpos
a ime
pos
, being
∆T= pos − p e
,
and (
b
) illus a es he a ia ion o he synap ic e icacy
ξ(∆T)
Vs
∆T
, STDP lea ning ule, as he
obse ed by Bi and Poo in biological synapses. (
c
) Illus a es he spike shape ha applied o he
mem is i e de ices desc ibes in Sec ion 4 ep oduces he STDP lea ning ule shown in (d).
In he las decade, many di e en wo ks ha e demons a ed he eme gence o STDP lea ning in
mem is i e de ices o di e en kinds o ma e ials [
137
,
180
,
185
–
189
]. Howe e , as al eady s a ed in
Sec ion 4, a a sys em le el, he cu en limi a ions o he mem is o echnology in e ms o con ol
o he esolu ion o he weigh upda ing, ha e no made possible he implemen a ion o wo king
STDP mem is i e lea ning sys ems wi h analog synap ic elemen s. P ecision in he weigh upda e
is di icul o con ol and mos o he mem is i e de ices ope a e changing be ween bina y s a es.
Fo ha eason, s ochas ic STDP lea ning ules ha ope a e wi h bina y weigh s du ing in e ence
and upda ing ope a ion ha e been p oposed. Seo e al. [
190
] applied his idea o simple classi ica ion
p oblems, bu hey ound ha hey could no lea n o sepa a e mo e han 5 pa e ns. Recen ly,
Youse zadeh e al. [
191
] we e able o classi y mo e elabo a ed da abases (as MNIST) by in oducing
some o he echniques ha imp o ed he pe o mance.
Combining unsupe ised ea u e ex ac ion me hods wi h supe ised ca ego iza ion aining
.
While supe ised lea ning me hods like backp opaga ion a e no ene gy e icien , a e no app op ia e
Ma e ials 2019,12, 2745 19 o 28
o on-line chip lea ning, and do no look like biologically plausible, unsupe ised lea ning ules
a e app op ia e o ex ac epe i i e s uc u es in he aining da a bu no app op ia e o ake
decisions
[192,193]
. Fo example, Moza a i e al. p opose o combine unsupe ised STDP laye
wi h supe ised Rein o cemen Lea ning STDP laye s [
193
]. The esul ing ne wo k is mo e obus o
o e i ing compa ed o backp oga ion aining as i ex ac s common ea u es and pe o ms well wi h
educed numbe o aining samples.
6. Fu u e Pe spec i e
I is well known ha he human b ain con ains abou 10
11
neu ons in e connec ed h ough
1015 synapses
, and wi h a powe consump ion o a ound 20 W i is capable o pe o ming complex
sensing and cogni i e p ocessing, sophis ica ed mo o con ol, lea ning and abs ac ion, and i
can dynamically adap o changing en i onmen s and unp edic ed condi ions. Fo his eason,
neu omo phic enginee s ha e been using he b ain as a p ocessing pa adigm o se e al decades
in o de o ab ica e a i icial p ocessing sys ems wi h simila capabili ies. A e he ini ial
a emp s o building he i s spike-based p ocessing sys ems demons a ed hei easibili y and
showed hei p omising po en ial [
78
], i became e iden he need o scaling up hese sys ems
in e ms o numbe o neu ons and synapses [
62
]. Se e al wo ks de eloped by bo h academic
ins i u ions [
86
,
121
–
125
,
127
–
129
] and indus ial playe s like IBM [
120
] o In el [
126
] ab ica ed
neu omo phic chips wi h up o 1 M neu ons and 256 M synapses, which could be ensembled in
mul i-chip boa ds and mul i-boa d pla o ms, opening he way o implemen la ge sys ems in he nea
u u e wi h numbe s o neu ons and synapses simila o he b ain. Howe e , hese sys ems, based on
di e en CMOS echnologies, will be limi ed by he hei la ge oom-scale size. Besides, he complexi y
o cu en implemen a ions o lea ning algo i hms in CMOS limi s hei scalabili y.
The eme gence o mem is o s and hei synap ic-like beha io opened he possibili y o o e come
he limi a ions o CMOS echnologies. Mem is o s can be a ew nanome e s size and can be packed
densely in a wo-dimensional laye wi h nanome e - ange pi ch, po en ially o e ing highe neu on
and synap ic densi y. Wi h a ab ica ion p ocess much cheape han CMOS, mem is o laye s can be
s acked in 3D. Assuming a easonable 30-nm pi ch, he supe posi ion o 10 mem is i e laye s could
heo e ically p o ide a memo y densi y o 10
11
non- ola ile analog cells pe cm
2
. This app oach could
in p inciple each he neu on and synap ic densi y o he human b ain in a single boa d, including
lea ning capabili ies [
194
]. Fu he mo e, he close 3D dense packaging be ween he CMOS neu al
compu a ion uni s and he mem is i e adap i e memo y synap ic elemen s can signi ican ly educe
he cu en consump ion o he esul ing sys ems.
Cu en a ailable mem is o s a e desc ibed as 1T1R de ices, meaning ha hey a e o med by he
se ies connec ion o a MOS ansis o and a mem is i e elemen . This ansis o is used o limi he
cu en lowing h ough he mem is o du ing each ope a ion (Fo ming, W i ing, E asing, Reading)
o a oid damaging he de ice. Howe e , his s uc u e is limi ing he densi y o mem is o s, as hey
a e also consuming a ea in he CMOS subs a e. An al e na i e o o e come his limi a ion is gi en
by 1S1R de ices (1-selec o -1- esis o ), whe e a ola ile mem is o (1S) is connec ed in se ies wi h a
non- ola ile mem is o (1R), eluding any CMOS a ea consump ion [195].
Hyb id sys ems wi h mem is o laye s ab ica ed on op o a CMOS subs a e can p o ide highly
pa allel massi e s o age igh ly coupled o CMOS compu ing ci cui y. The e o e, compu ing and
lea ning p ocesses in he b ain can be imi a ed by combining mem is o s wi h spiking p ocesso s
and in eg a e-and- i e neu ons in silicon. Using mesh echniques [
82
], g ids o ens o chips can
be assembled modula ly on a P in ed Ci cui Boa d (PCB), allowing o scaling up he numbe s o
neu ons and synapses in a neu al sys em [
65
]. The combina ion o all hese echniques oge he
wi h he esolu ion o he mul iple echnical challenges cu en ly associa ed o dense mem is i e
laye s ( eliabili y, epea abili y, ep og ammabili y) could p o ide an impo an s ep owa ds he
ha dwa e implemen a ion o b ain-scale low-powe neu omo phic p ocessing sys ems wi h online
STDP lea ning.
Ma e ials 2019,12, 2745 20 o 28
Au ho Con ibu ions:
W i ing—o iginal d a p epa a ion, L.A.C.-M. and T.S.-G.; w i ing— e iew and edi ing,
L.A.C.-M., T.S.-G. and B.L.-B.; supe ision, B.L.-B. and T.S.-G.; unding acquisi ion, T.S.-G. and L.A.C.-M.
Funding:
This wo k was unded by EU H2020 g an s 687299 ”NEURAM3” and 824164 ”HERMES”, and by
Spanish g an om he Minis y o Economy and Compe i i i y TEC2015-63884-C2-1-P (COGNET) (wi h suppo
om he Eu opean Regional De elopmen Fund). Luis A. Camuñas-Mesa was unded by he VI PPIT h ough he
Uni e sidad de Se illa.
Con lic s o In e es : The au ho s decla e no con lic o in e es .
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