Volume 9, Issue 4 2401502
Research Article

Light-to-Spike Encoding Using Indium-Gallium-Zinc Oxide Phototransistor for all-Color Image Recognition with Dynamic Range and Precision Tunability

Ya-Chi Huang

Ya-Chi Huang

Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, 70101 Taiwan

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Yu-Chieh Chen

Yu-Chieh Chen

Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, 70101 Taiwan

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Kuan-Ting Chen

Kuan-Ting Chen

Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, 70101 Taiwan

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Chun-Tao Chen

Chun-Tao Chen

Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, 70101 Taiwan

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Li-Chung Shih

Li-Chung Shih

Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, 70101 Taiwan

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Jen-Sue Chen

Corresponding Author

Jen-Sue Chen

Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, 70101 Taiwan

Academy of Innovative Semiconductor and Sustainable Manufacturing, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, 70101 Taiwan

E-mail: [email protected]

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First published: 08 December 2024

Abstract

To enhance the efficiency of machine vision system, physical hardware capable of sensing and encoding is essential. However, sensing and encoding color information has been overlooked. Therefore, this work utilizes an indium-gallium-zinc oxide (IGZO) phototransistor to detect varying densities of red, green, and blue (RGB) light, converting them into corresponding drain current (ID) states. By applying stochastic gate voltage (VG) pulses to the IGZO phototransistor, the fluctuations are generated in these ID states. When the ID exceeds the threshold current (ITC), a spike signal is generated. This approach enables the conversion of light densities into spike signals, achieving spike-rate encoding. Moreover, adjusting the standard deviation (σ) of the VG pulses controls the range of light densities converted into spike rates, while altering the mean (μ) of the VG pulses changes the baseline level of spike rates. Remarkably, separate RGB channels offer a tunable encoding process, which can emphasize individual colors and correct color bias. The encoded spike rates are also fed into a spiking neural network (SNN) for CIFAR-10 pattern recognition, achieving an accuracy of 86%. The method allows the operation of SNN and shows the tunability in the process of light-to-spike encoding, opening possibilities for color image processing.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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