LSI neural chip of pulse-output network with programmable synapse

We have fabricated a microchip of a neural circuit with pulse representation. The neuron output is a voltage pulse train. The synapse is a constant current source whose output is proportional to the duty ratio of neuron output. Membrane potential is charged by collection of synaptic currents through a RC circuit, providing an analog operation similar to the biological neural system. We use a 4-bit SRAM as the memory for synaptic weights. The expected I/O characteristics of the neurons and the synapses were measured experimentally. We have also demonstrated the capability of network operation with the use of synaptic weights, for solving the A/D conversion problem.