JJ-Soma: Toward a Spiking Neuromorphic Processor Architecture
Mustafa Altay Karamuftuoglu, Ali Bozbey, Sasan Razmkhah
Abstract
Neuromorphic computing and artificial neurons have been shown to improve the solution for some of the complex problems for conventional computers. We present a spiking soma Josephson junction-based soma (JJ-Soma) circuit that consists of a double-junction SQUID interfered with a resistor (threshold loop), a decaying superconductor loop cut by a resistor, which is coupled to the SQUIDlike structure. The proposed soma has three main properties: 1) ultrahigh-speed operation with minimal power consumption; 2) compatibility with standard foundry processes that allow fabrication with the available infrastructure; and 3) compatibility with conventional single flux quantum (SFQ) logic gates, which enables the design and implementation of complicated networks. Each soma circuit covers 40 µm × 80 µm area on-chip with different activation functions. The circuits are fabricated in a commercial foundry for superconductors and they have been implemented and demonstrated experimentally.