Artificial neurons based on antiferromagnetic auto-oscillators as a platform for neuromorphic computing

Abstract

Spiking artificial neurons emulate the voltage spikes of biological neurons and constitute the building blocks of a new class of energy efficient, neuromorphic computing systems. Antiferromagnetic materials can, in theory, be used to construct spiking artificial neurons. When configured as a neuron, the magnetization in antiferromagnetic materials has an effective inertia that gives them intrinsic characteristics that closely resemble biological neurons, in contrast with conventional artificial spiking neurons. It is shown here that antiferromagnetic neurons have a spike duration on the order of picoseconds, a power consumption of about 10−3 pJ per synaptic operation, and built-in features that directly resemble biological neurons, including response latency, refraction, and inhibition. It is also demonstrated that antiferromagnetic neurons interconnected into physical neural networks can perform unidirectional data processing even for passive symmetrical interconnects. The flexibility of antiferromagnetic neurons is illustrated by simulations of simple neuromorphic circuits realizing Boolean logic gates and controllable memory loops.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2023
Source ID
10.1063/5.0128530

Entities

People

  • Andrei Slavin
  • Cody Trevillian
  • Elena Bankowski
  • Hannah Bradley
  • Le Tam Phuong Quach
  • Steven Louis
  • Vasil Tiberkevich

Organizations

  • Air Force Office of Scientific Research
  • Oakland University
  • United States Army

Tags

Readers

  • Neuroscience
  • Parallel and Distributed Computing.
  • Parasitology and Pharmacology of Malaria.

Technology Areas

  • AI & ML