Unique material mimics brain learning during sleep

Researchers have developed a material that replicates how the brain stores information. He works,

copying neuron synapses.This mimics the learning that occurs during deep sleep. The magnetic material was developed by a group of researchers from the Autonomous University of Barcelona using neuromorphic computing.

Neuromorphic computing is a new concept inin which brain behavior is emulated by mimicking the basic synaptic functions of neurons. Among them is plasticity: the ability to retain or forget information depending on the duration and repetition of electrical impulses stimulating neurons. It's all related to learning and memory.

Among the materials that mimic neuronal synapses are:Researchers highlight memresistive materials, ferroelectrics, phase change materials, topological insulators and, more recently, magnetoionic materials. Changes in their magnetic properties are caused by the movement of ions within the material with the application of an electric field.

The role of CoN film thickness in the movement of ions.
(a) Schematic representation of voltage actuation on CoN films using an electrolytic gate.
b is a sketch of the electrical double layer formed on the surface of CoN films during electrolytic gating.
Credit: Materials Horizons (2022). DOI: 10.1039/D2MH01087A

Now researchers have developed a material based on a thin layer of cobalt mononitride (CoN). By applying an electric field, the accumulation of ions in it can be controlled.

“With a cobalt mononitride layer thickness of less than50 nanometers and when applying voltage at a frequency of more than 100 cycles per second, we were able to emulate an additional logic function. Once voltage is applied, the device can be programmed to learn or forget something without the need for additional power. All of this mimics the synaptic functions that occur in the brain during deep sleep. Information processing can then continue without any external signal,” the study authors explain.

As a result, scientists have developed an artificial synapse, which in the future will become a new computing paradigm. It will replace the one used in modern computers.

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