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A Compact and Low-Power SoC Design for Spiking Neural Network Based on Current Multiplier Charge Injector Synapse.
Malik Summair Asghar1,2, Saad Arslan3, Ali A Al-Hamid1
1Department of Electronics, College of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju 28644, Republic of Korea.
This study introduces a compact analog system-on-chip (SoC) for low-power spiking neural networks (SNNs) in IoT devices. The novel design achieves high accuracy with significantly reduced power consumption compared to digital counterparts.
Area of Science:
- Neuromorphic Engineering
- Integrated Circuit Design
- Artificial Intelligence Hardware
Background:
- Spiking Neural Networks (SNNs) offer energy-efficient computation for AI tasks.
- Low-power System-on-Chip (SoC) designs are crucial for Internet of Things (IoT) applications.
- Existing SNN implementations often face challenges in power consumption and chip area.
Purpose of the Study:
- To present a compact analog SoC implementation of an SNN optimized for low-power IoT applications.
- To develop novel analog neuron and synaptic circuits for reduced power and area.
- To demonstrate the performance and efficiency of the proposed SNN SoC against a digital implementation.
Main Methods:
- Designed analog neuron and synaptic circuits using a current multiplier charge injector (CMCI) for synapses and an asynchronous structure for neurons.
- Implemented the SNN SoC using a 65 nm CMOS process.
- Trained the SNN chip on the MNIST dataset and compared its performance (area, power) against a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) based digital SoC.
Main Results:
- The proposed synapse circuit (CMCI) reduces power consumption and chip area, offering design scalability.
- The asynchronous neuron circuit enhances sensitivity to synaptic inputs and energy efficiency.
- The SNN chip achieved 96.56% classification accuracy on the MNIST dataset.
- The fabricated chip occupies 0.96 mm² and consumes 530 μW average power, which is 200x lower than its digital counterpart.
Conclusions:
- The developed analog SNN SoC provides a highly power-efficient and compact solution for AI in IoT.
- The novel circuit designs for neurons and synapses enable significant reductions in power and area.
- This work demonstrates a viable pathway for deploying advanced AI capabilities on resource-constrained edge devices.

