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22/01/2010
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Researchers claim to have developed a transistor that can mimic the way synapses work in the human nervous system.
 The research could open the way to new generations of neuro inspired computers capable of responding in a manner similar to the nervous system.
The study, published in Advanced Functional Materials, reveals developers from the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and CEA Research and Simulation have created an organic transistor called a nanoparticle organic memory field effect transistor (nomfet).
In the nervous system, a synapse is the junction between two neurons, enabling the transmission of electric messages from one neuron to another and the adaptation of the message as a function of the nature of the incoming signal (plasticity). It is this plasticity that the researchers claim to have mimicked with the nomfet. It combines an organic transistor and gold nanoparticles fixed in the channel of the transistor and coated with a hydrocarbon called pentacene.
These have a memory effect that allows them to mimic the way a synapse works during the transmission of action potentials between two neurons. This property, say the researchers, makes the electronic component capable of evolving as a function of the system in which it is placed. Its performance is comparable to the seven cmos transistors traditionally required to mimic this plasticity.
The devices produced have been optimised to nanometric sizes in order to be able to integrate them on a large scale. Neuro-inspired computers produced using this technology are capable of functions comparable to those of the human brain. Unlike silicon computers, the researchers believe neuro-inspired computers can resolve much more complex problems, such as visual recognition.
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Author
Chris Shaw
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