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Updated: Feb 14, 2026
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Using Neuron Spiking Activity to Trigger Closed-Loop Stimuli in Neurophysiological Experiments
Published on: November 12, 2019
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A self-resetting spiking phase-change neuron.
R A Cobley1, H Hayat1, C D Wright1
1Department of Engineering, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QF, United Kingdom.
Nanotechnology
|February 23, 2018
Summary
Phase-change devices can mimic neuron function beyond synapses. This study shows a single phase-change memory cell can act as an integrate-and-fire neuron, enabling all-phase-change neuromorphic computing.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Computer Engineering
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Phase-change devices are mainly used for neuromorphic synapses.
- Phase-change materials exhibit an accumulation mode suitable for neuron mimicry.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate a phase-change device functioning as an integrate-and-fire spiking neuron.
- To explore the potential of all-phase-change neuromorphic computing.
Main Methods:
- Physical modeling of nanoscale phase-change devices.
- SPICE modeling of integrated circuits incorporating phase-change memory cells.
- Designing a comparator-type circuit for neuron emulation.
Main Results:
- A single phase-change memory cell, within a comparator circuit, successfully mimics an integrate-and-fire spiking neuron.
- The demonstrated neuron exhibits self-resetting capabilities.
- The approach validates the use of phase-change accumulation mode for neural computation.
Conclusions:
- Phase-change memory cells can serve as functional units for spiking neurons, not just synapses.
- This work paves the way for realizing fully phase-change-based neuromorphic computing systems.
- Integrating phase-change neurons and synapses offers a novel pathway for brain-inspired computing architectures.
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