On the Excitability of Ultra-Low-Power CMOS Analog Spiking Neurons

TL;DR

This paper investigates the excitability of ultra-low-power CMOS analog spiking neurons, establishing an intrinsic membrane potential threshold for action potential generation through circuit analysis and simulations, contributing to neuromorphic computing.

Contribution

It introduces an excitation criterion based on membrane potential threshold, providing a detailed circuit-level analysis of neuron excitability in ultra-low-power analog neurons.

Findings

Membrane potential threshold is intrinsic to the neuron.

Excitation criterion can be quantified by critical charge or potential.

Analysis offers insights into nonlinear neuron dynamics.

Abstract

The excitability property of spiking neurons describes their capability to output an action potential as a real-time response to an input synaptic excitation current and is central to the event-based neuromorphic computing paradigm. The spiking mechanism is analysed in a representative ultra-low-power analog neuron from the circuit literature. Relying on conventional SPICE simulations compatible with industrial transistor compact models, we establish a excitation criterion, quantified either in terms of critical supplied charge or membrane potential threshold. Only the latter is found intrinsic to the neuron, i.e. independent of the input stimulus. Rigorous analysis of the nonlinear neuron dynamics provides insight but still needs to be explored further, as well as the effect of the intrinsic noise.