Magnetic Skyrmion-Based Neural Recording System Design for Brain Machine Interface

Next-generation brain machine interface demand a high-channel-count neural recording system to wirelessly monitor activities of thousands of neurons. In order to achieve high-density neural recording, further development of single recording channel comprised of a neural amplifier front-end (AFE) and an analog-to-digit converter (ADC) is critical. Despite the great progress made in CMOS implementation of custom-designed neural recording system, hybrid limitations of increasing area and power consumption in line with Moore's law drove great demand for post-CMOS substitutes. Magnetic skyrmion with nano particle-like and non-volatile properties are of both fundamental and applied interests for future bio-inspired electronics. In this work, we propose a compact model including both AFE and ADC based on current-induced skyrmion motion. The proposed system achieved a power consumption of 0.63 pJ/channel with an area overhead of 0.14 μm2. The purpose of this work is to explore the feasibility of magnetic skyrmion for building large-scale, dense neuronal recording system which could pave a new way for future brain machine interface application.