A semi-looped functional for sampled-data synchronization of delayed neural networks considering communication delay

This paper studies the master-slave synchronization of delayed neural networks (DNNs) using a sampled-data controller with a communication delay. First, a novel semi-looped functional is constructed to incorporate more system information and to feature more relaxed constraints, particularly the negative-definite condition on its derivatives. Second, two zero-value equations are constructed to fully coordinate the relationships among the system information introduced by the proposed functional, thereby providing greater flexibility in synchronization controller design. As a result, the synchronization criterion with reduced conservatism is derived by employing these techniques. This criterion allows for the design of a sampled-data synchronization controller for DNNs that accommodates larger sampling intervals, thus reducing communication and computational burdens. Finally, three widely used numerical examples illustrate the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed criterion.