Protonic Nickelate Device Networks for Spatiotemporal Neuromorphic Computing

TL;DR

This paper presents a novel neuromorphic computing platform using protonic nickelate materials that integrates spatiotemporal processing and memory, enabling efficient real-time pattern recognition and classification tasks.

Contribution

The work introduces a unified nickelate-based neuromorphic system with emergent spatial interactions and short-term memory, advancing hardware capabilities for neuromorphic computing.

Findings

Achieved nanosecond-scale operation with 0.2 nJ energy per input.

Demonstrated high accuracy in spoken-digit classification.

Enabled early seizure detection with high reliability.

Abstract

Computation in biological neural circuits arises from the interplay of nonlinear temporal responses and spatially distributed dynamic network interactions. Replicating this richness in hardware has remained challenging, as most neuromorphic devices emulate only isolated neuron- or synapse-like functions. In this work, we introduce an integrated neuromorphic computing platform in which both nonlinear spatiotemporal processing and programmable memory are realized within a single perovskite nickelate material system. By engineering symmetric and asymmetric hydrogenated NdNiO3 junction devices on the same wafer, we combine ultrafast, proton-mediated transient dynamics with stable multilevel resistance states. Networks of symmetric NdNiO3 junctions exhibit emergent spatial interactions mediated by proton redistribution, while each node simultaneously provides short-term temporal memory, enabling nanoseconds scale operation with an energy cost of 0.2 nJ per input. When interfaced with asymmetric output units serving as reconfigurable long-term weights, these networks allow both feature transformation and linear classification in the same material system. Leveraging these emergent interactions, the platform enables real-time pattern recognition and achieves high accuracy in spoken-digit classification and early seizure detection, outperforming temporal-only or uncoupled architectures. These results position protonic nickelates as a compact, energy-efficient, CMOS-compatible platform that integrates processing and memory for scalable intelligent hardware.