Basic characteristics of hardware neuron model based on CMOS negative resistance: realization of post-inhibitory rebound firing and its application

We introduced and evaluated the hardware neuron model with CMOS configuration which showed negative resistance characteristics. It was shown that this model had similar properties to those of the biological neuron, and that the post-inhibitory rebound firing (PIR firing) could be reproduced by this model. It was also found that the neural oscillator, consisting of a pair of neurons with inhibitory mutual connections, could be constructed by this hardware neuron model with the help of its PIR firing property. These results show the possibility of designing a new type of neuro-chip inspired by biological neural systems.