Synchronization of MEMS resonators and mechanical neurocomputing

We combine here two well-known and established concepts: microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and neurocomputing. First, we consider MEMS oscillators having low amplitude activity and we derive a simple mathematical model that describes nonlinear phase-locking dynamics in them. Then, we investigate a theoretical possibility of using MEMS oscillators to build an oscillatory neurocomputer having autocorrelative associative memory. The neurocomputer stores and retrieves complex oscillatory patterns in the form of synchronized states with appropriate phase relations between the oscillators. Thus, we show that MEMS alone can be used to build a sophisticated information processing system (U.S. provisional patent 60/178,654).