Self-organized solid-state synthetic neuronal structure
US10664747B2 · kind B2 · utility
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 30, 2016 |
| Grant date | May 26, 2020 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 3, 2039 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06N3/092
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A synthetic neuronal structure makes use of a semiconductor-metal phase transition material having material regions separated by discontinuities. The discontinuities represent interfaces such that different phases in two adjacent regions result in a metal-semiconductor interface. The interface supports a charge accumulation and a discharge of accumulated charge when an activation energy provided, for example, by electrical current, localized heating or optical energy, reaches a threshold necessary for breakdown of a potential barrier presented by the interface, and thus mimics a leaky integrate-and-fire neuron. With many such interfaces distributed through the structure, the local inputs to a neuron become a weighted sum of energy from neighboring neurons. Thus, different combinations of signals at one or more inputs connected to the structure will favor different neural pathways through the structure, thereby resulting in a neural network.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.