Artificial Photothermal Nociceptor Using Mott Oscillators

Abstract

Bioinspired sensory systems based on spike neural networks have received considerable attention in resolving high energy consumption and limited bandwidth in current sensory systems. To efficiently produce spike signals upon exposure to external stimuli, compact neuron devices are required for signal detection and their encoding into spikes in a single device. Herein, it is demonstrated that Mott oscillative spike neurons can integrate sensing and ceaseless spike generation in a compact form, which emulates the process of evoking photothermal sensing in the features of biological photothermal nociceptors. Interestingly, frequency-tunable and repetitive spikes are generated above the threshold value (P_th = 84 mW cm⁻²) as a characteristic of “threshold” in leaky-integrate-and-fire (LIF) neurons; the neuron devices successfully mimic a crucial feature of biological thermal nociceptors, including modulation of frequency coding and startup latency depending on the intensity of photothermal stimuli. Furthermore, Mott spike neurons are self-adapted after sensitization upon exposure to high-intensity electromagnetic radiation, which can replicate allodynia and hyperalgesia in a biological sensory system. Thus, this study presents a unique approach to capturing and encoding environmental source data into spikes, enabling efficient sensing of environmental sources for the application of adaptive sensory systems.