Array of Cointegrated Transistor-Based Artificial Neurons and Synapses for Neuromorphic Computing

Neuromorphic computing seeks to replicate the computational efficiency and parallelism of the human brain by emulating its neural architecture. In this work, we present the Array of Cointegrated Transistor-Based Artificial Neurons and Synapses (ACTANS), a simplified hardware architecture that unifies transistors as both artificial neurons and synapses within a fully compatible complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) fabrication process. The artificial neurons and synapses are homotypic transistors that are structurally identical but functionally distinct. The proposed ACTANS consists of one neuron and sixteen connected synapses. In contrast to circuit-based neuromorphic systems that are limited by excessive area requirements and high-power consumption, and to non-CMOS systems that struggle to integrate neurons, synapses, and peripheral circuits owing to incompatibility with CMOS processes, the ACTANS architecture provides a compact device footprint and enables seamless neuron-synapse-circuit cointegration. The system is capable of performing cognitive tasks such as letter and pattern recognition.