Step towards light-based, brain-like computing chip -- ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/05/190508134459.

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Step towards light-based, brain-like computing chip

Date: May 8, 2019

Source: University of Münster

Summary: Scientists have succeeded in developing a piece of hardware which could pave the way for
creating computers resembling the human brain. They produced a chip containing a network of
artificial neurons that works with light and can imitate neurons and their synapses. This network is
able to 'learn' information and use this as a basis for computing. The approach could be used later
in many different fields for evaluating patterns in large quantities of data.

FULL STORY

Brain chip concept (stock image).

Credit: © Petrovich12 / Adobe Stock

A technology that functions like a brain? In these times of artificial intelligence, this no
longer seems so far-fetched -- for example, when a mobile phone can recognise faces
or languages. With more complex applications, however, computers still quickly come
up against their own limitations. One of the reasons for this is that a computer
traditionally has separate memory and processor units -- the consequence of which is
that all data have to be sent back and forth between the two. In this respect, the
human brain is way ahead of even the most modern computers because it processes
and stores information in the same place -- in the synapses, or connections between
neurons, of which there are a million-billion in the brain. An international team of
researchers from the Universities of Münster (Germany), Oxford and Exeter (both UK)
have now succeeded in developing a piece of hardware which could pave the way for
creating computers which resemble the human brain. The scientists managed to
produce a chip containing a network of artificial neurons that works with light and can
imitate the behaviour of neurons and their synapses.

The researchers were able to demonstrate, that such an optical neurosynaptic network is able to "learn"

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Step towards light-based, brain-like computing chip -- ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/05/190508134459.htm

information and use this as a basis for computing and recognizing patterns -- just as a brain can. As the system
functions solely with light and not with traditional electrons, it can process data many times faster. "This
integrated photonic system is an experimental milestone," says Prof. Wolfram Pernice from Münster University
and lead partner in the study. "The approach could be used later in many different fields for evaluating patterns in
large quantities of data, for example in medical diagnoses." The study is published in the latest issue of the
"Nature" journal.

The story in detail -- background and method used

Most of the existing approaches relating to so-called neuromorphic networks are based on electronics, whereas
optical systems -- in which photons, i.e. light particles, are used -- are still in their infancy. The principle which the
German and British scientists have now presented works as follows: optical waveguides that can transmit light
and can be fabricated into optical microchips are integrated with so-called phase-change materials -- which are
already found today on storage media such as re-writable DVDs. These phase-change materials are
characterised by the fact that they change their optical properties dramatically, depending on whether they are
crystalline -- when their atoms arrange themselves in a regular fashion -- or amorphous -- when their atoms
organise themselves in an irregular fashion. This phase-change can be triggered by light if a laser heats the
material up. "Because the material reacts so strongly, and changes its properties dramatically, it is highly suitable
for imitating synapses and the transfer of impulses between two neurons," says lead author Johannes Feldmann,
who carried out many of the experiments as part of his PhD thesis at the Münster University.

In their study, the scientists succeeded for the first time in merging many nanostructured phase-change materials
into one neurosynaptic network. The researchers developed a chip with four artificial neurons and a total of 60
synapses. The structure of the chip -- consisting of different layers -- was based on the so-called wavelength
division multiplex technology, which is a process in which light is transmitted on different channels within the
optical nanocircuit.

In order to test the extent to which the system is able to recognise patterns, the researchers "fed" it with
information in the form of light pulses, using two different algorithms of machine learning. In this process, an
artificial system "learns" from examples and can, ultimately, generalise them. In the case of the two algorithms
used -- both in so-called supervised and in unsupervised learning -- the artificial network was ultimately able, on
the basis of given light patterns, to recognise a pattern being sought -- one of which was four consecutive letters.

"Our system has enabled us to take an important step towards creating computer hardware which behaves
similarly to neurons and synapses in the brain and which is also able to work on real-world tasks," says Wolfram
Pernice. "By working with photons instead of electrons we can exploit to the full the known potential of optical
technologies -- not only in order to transfer data, as has been the case so far, but also in order to process and
store them in one place," adds co-author Prof. Harish Bhaskaran from the University of Oxford.

A very specific example is that with the aid of such hardware cancer cells could be identified automatically.
Further work will need to be done, however, before such applications become reality. The researchers need to
increase the number of artificial neurons and synapses and increase the depth of neural networks. This can be
done, for example, with optical chips manufactured using silicon technology. "This step is to be taken in the EU
joint project 'Fun-COMP' by using foundry processing for the production of nanochips," says co-author and leader
of the Fun-COMP project, Prof. C. David Wright from the University of Exeter.

Funding

This collaborative work was funded by Germany's DFG (grant PE 1832/5-1), the UK's EPSRC (grants
EP/J018694/1, EP/M015173/1 and EP/M015130/1) and the European Commission's ERC (grant 724707) and
H2020 (the Fun-COMP project, grant 780848) programmes.

Story Source:

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Step towards light-based, brain-like computing chip -- ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/05/190508134459.htm

Materials provided by University of Münster. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference:

1. J. Feldmann et al. All-optical spiking neurosynaptic networks with self-learning capabilities. Nature,
2019 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-019-1157-8

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University of Münster. "Step towards light-based, brain-like computing chip." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 8 May
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