Mixed Signal Integrated Circuit Design for Integrate-and-Fire Spiking Neurons.

A new way of designing integrate-and-fire (IF) neuronal integrated circuits is presented. In contrast to other studies, a newly designed linear voltage-controlled current source is used to linearly convert the voltage signal representing the synaptic weights into a current signal and charge the membrane capacitor through the current mirror. The voltage of the membrane capacitor is then processed by another newly designed hysteresis comparator, which finally generates the output pulse signal and implements the IF neuron function. The mixed analog–digital structure makes the output of the circuit less susceptible to transistor mismatches. The design process draws on the best of current modern electronic design, such as band gap references, current mirrors and comparators, and is based on the 0.18 μ m process. Finally, the simulation program with integrated circuit emphasis verifies that the design is valid and feasible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]