Artificial synapse could make computers more like brains

Scientists have created an artificial synapse, the space over which neurons communicate. It could help computers better recreate the way the human brain processes information and lead to improvements in brain-machine technologies.

“It works like a real synapse but it’s an organic electronic device that can be engineered,” says Alberto Salleo, associate professor of materials science and engineering at Stanford University and senior author of the paper. “It’s an entirely new family of devices because this type of architecture has not been shown before. For many key metrics, it also performs better than anything that’s been done before with inorganics.”

The artificial synapse is based off a battery design. It consists of two thin, flexible films with three terminals, connected by an electrolyte of salty water. The device works as a transistor, with one of the terminals controlling the flow of electricity between the other two.
Like a neural path in a brain being reinforced through learning, the researchers program the artificial synapse by discharging and recharging it repeatedly. Through this training, they have been able to predict within 1 percent of uncertainly what voltage will be required to get the synapse to a specific electrical state and, once there, it remains at that state. In other words, unlike a common computer, where you save your work to the hard drive before you turn it off, the artificial synapse can recall its programming without any additional actions or parts.

Source: Stanford University