Neuromorphic Photonics: Introduction to Spiking
and Excitability
Rama Chaudhary
Dayalbagh Educational Institute, Department of physics and Computer Science, Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India
Abstract—The human brain is believed to be the most complex
system in the universe and sets standards for information process-
ing. Brain inspired computing systems could break performance
limitation inherent in traditional Von-Neumann architecture in
solving particular classes of problems. We study this field which
explores merging of principles of Neuroscience and Photonics.
The special class of artificial neurons known as spiking neuron
is discussed. The methodology of finding suitable systems for
spike processing is also discussed.
I. I NTRODUCTION
The field of brain inspired computing promises break-
throughs in field of information processing. It uses terms
like nonlinear node (neuron), interconnection (network) and
information representation (coding scheme). The most elemen-
tary illustration of a neuron is shown in Fig (1). Neurons
are networked in a weighted directed graph, in which the
connections are called synapses. The input into a particular
neuron is a linear combination also referred to as weighted
addition of the output of other neurons. This particular neuron
integrates the weighted signals over time and produces a
nonlinear response. This nonlinear response is represented by
an activation function, and it is usually bounded and mono-
tonic The neurons output is then broadcast to all connected
nodes in the network. These connections can be weighted with
negative and positive values, respectively called inhibitory and
excitatory synapses. The weight is therefore represented as a
real number, and the entire interconnection network expressed
as a matrix. The coding scheme is a mapping of how real-
valued variables are represented by these spiking signals[1].
Three generations of neural networks have been studied in
computational neuroscience. The first is based on the McCul-
Fig. 1. Nonlinear model of a neuron. Notice the set of synapses, or connecting
links, an adder performing weighted addition; and a nonlinear activation
function[1]
loch Pitts neuron model, often referred to as a perceptron[3],
which consists of a linear combiner followed by a step-like
activation function i.e. the synaptic weighted sum is compared
to a threshold and, accordingly, the neuron produces a binary
output. Artificial neural networks based on perceptrons are
boolean-complete, they have the ability of simulating any
boolean circuit and are said to be universal for digital compu-
tations.
The second generation of neuron models introduces a con-
tinuous monotonic activation function in place of the hard
limiter, and therefore it represents inputs and outputs as analog
quantities. Neural networks from the second generation are
universal for analog computations in the sense that they can
approximate arbitrarily well any continuous function with a
compact domain.
First and second generation neural networks are powerful
constructs present in state-of-the-art machine intelligence how-
ever, they cannot provide explanations for how fast analog
computations are performed by neurons in the cortex. For
example, neuroscientists demonstrated in the 1990s that a
single cortical area in the macaque monkey is capable of
analyzing and classifying visual patterns in just 30 ms, in spite
of the fact that these neurons firing rates are usually below 100
Hz i.e. less than 3 spikes in 30 ms which directly challenges
the assumptions of rate coding. In parallel, more evidence was
found that biological neurons use the precise timing of these
spikes to encode information, which led to the investigation
of a third generation of neural networks based on a spiking
neuron.[1]
II. S PIKING N EURAL N ETWORKS
Spiking neural models replace the nonlinear activation func-
tion with a nonlinear dynamical system. The most important
example of a spiking neuron is the threshold-fire model. It can
be summarized with the following five properties:
A. Wighted Addition
The neuron must have the ability to sum both positive and
negative weighted inputs. The weights model the synaptic
junctions. These weight can be useful in terms of adaptability.
Adaptability is the network’s ability to accommodate changing
environmental and system conditions. Adaptation of network
parameters typically occurs on time scales much slower than
spiking dynamics and can be separated into either unsuper-
vised learning[1].
B. Integration
Neuron is required to be capable of integrating the weighted
sum over time. Integration is a temporal generalization of sum-
mation in older perceptron based models. Spikes with varying
amplitudes and delays arrive at the integrator, changing its
state by an amount proportional to their input amplitudes.
Excitatory inputs increase its state, while inhibitory inputs
deplete it. The integrator is especially sensitive to spikes that
are closely clustered in time or with high amplitudes, the basic
functionality of temporal summation. Eventually, without any
inputs the state variable will decay to its equilibrium value.
Both the amplitude and timing play an important role for
integration[1].
C. Thresholding
Thresholding determines whether the output of the inte-
grator is above or below a predetermined threshold value,
T . The neuron makes a decision based on the state of the
integrator, firing if the integration state is above the threshold.
Thresholding is the center of nonlinear decision making in a
spiking system, which reduces the dimensionality of incoming
information in a useful fashion and plays a critical role in
cleaning up amplitude noise that would otherwise cause the
breakdown of analog computation[1].
D. Reset
The reset condition resets the state of the integrator to a low,
rest value immediately after a spike processor fires, causing a
refractory period in which it is impossible or difficult to cause
the neuron to fire again. It plays the same role in time as the
thresholder does for amplitude, cleaning up timing jitter and
preventing the temporal spreading of excitatory activity while
putting a bandwidth cap on the output of a given spiking unit.
It is a necessary component for simulating the rate model of
neural computation with spiking neurons[1].
E. Pulse Generation
Pulse generation refers to the ability of a system to sponta-
neously generate pulses. If pulses are not regenerated as they
travel through systems, they will eventually be lost in noise. A
system with this property can asynchronously generate pulses
without the need to be triggered on input pulses, which is
crucial for distributed processing.[1]
TABLE I: Spiking Neuron Properties
Integration Temporally sum weighted inputs
Thresholding Fire one spike if state exceeds threshold
Reset Return state to reset immediately after a spike
Pulse Generation Introduce a new spike into network
Adaptability Modify parameters based on input statistics
F. Need of spiking neurons
The information transformed by the spiking neuron is often
characterized by the firing rate of spikes (rate coding) or the
timing of individual spikes (temporal coding). Maass demon-
strated that this third generation is more than a generalization
of the first two in terms of functionality and computational
power; and for some computational tasks, a single neuron can
replace large numbers of conventional neurons and still be
robust to noise.
In the nervous system, firing a spike costs a neuron an
amount of energy proportional to how far the spike must travel
down the axon, because the transmission medium is dispersive
and lossy. There are clear advantages for representing informa-
tion in spikes traveling through lossy, dispersive passive media:
the bit of information is not destroyed by pulse spreading
or amplitude attenuation, since it is contained in the timing
of the spike; therefore it can be regenerated by intermediate
neurons. Active mechanisms, such as intermediate neurons,
restore the stereotypical shape and amplitude of the spike
as it travels through a signaling pathway, mitigating noise
accumulation at every stage of the network. Thus, so long
as random processes do not interfere irreversibly with spike
timings, information can travel indefinitely unaltered at the
expense of energy consumed at each intermediate node.[1]
III. S PIKING N EURON M ODEL
Leaky Integrated and Fire model is most effective spiking
model to describe a variety of different biologically observed
phenomena. Signals are ideally represented by series of delta
functions where the inputs and outputs, for spike times τj ,
take the form:
Xn
x(t) = δ(t − tj ) (1)
j=1
Individual units perform a small set of basic operations
(delaying, weighting, spatial summation, temporal integration,
and thresholding) that are integrated into a single device capa-
ble of implementing a variety of processing tasks, including
binary classification, adaptive feedback, and temporal logic.
The five properties listed in Table 1 all play important roles
in the emulation of the LIF neuron[2].
According to the standard LIF model, neurons are treated
as an equivalent electrical circuit. The membrane potential
Vm (t), the voltage difference across their membrane, acts as
the primary internal (activation) state variable. Ions that flow
across the membrane experience a resistance R = Rm and
capacitance C = Cm associated with the membrane. The
soma is effectively a first-order low-pass filter, or a leaky
integrator, with the integration time constant τm = Rm Cm
that determines the exponential decay rate of the impulse
response function. The leakage current through Rm drives the
membrane voltage Vm (t) to 0, but an active membrane pump-
ing current counteracts it and maintains a resting membrane
voltage at a value of Vm (t) = VL .
The basic biological structure of a LIF neuron is depicted
in Fig 2(a). It consists of a dendritic tree that collects and
sums inputs from other neurons, a soma that acts as a low
pass filter and integrates signals over time, and an axon that
carries an action potential, or spike, when the integrated signal
exceeds a threshold. Neurons are connected to each other
via synapses, or extracellular gaps, across which chemical
 for an individual neuron, where these three influences are the
three terms contributing to the differential equation describing
Vm (t).

The dynamics of an LIF neuron are illustrated in Fig. 3.

If Vm (t) ≥ Vthresh , then the neuron outputs a spike, which
takes the form y(t) = δ(t − tf ), where tf is the time of spike
firing, and Vm (t) is set to Vreset . This is followed by a relative
refractory period, during which Vm (t) recovers from Vreset to
the resting potential VL in which it is difficult but possible
to induce the firing of a spike. Consequently, the output of
the neuron consists
P of a continuous time series comprised of
spikes y(t) = i δ(t − ti ) for spike firing times ti .

Fig. 2. (a) Schematic and (b) operation of a leaky integrate-and-fire neuron[2].

signals are transmitted. The axon, dendrite, and synapse all

play an important role in the weighting and delaying of spike
signals[2].
Fig. 2(b) shows the standard LIF neuron model. A neuron
has: (1) N inputs which represent induced currents through
input synapses xj (t), that are continuous time series consisting
either of spikes or continuous analog values; (2) an internal
activation state Vm (t); and (3) a single output state y(t). Each Fig. 3. An illustration of spiking dynamics in an LIF neuron. Spikes arriving
from inputs xj (t) that are inhibitory (red arrows) reduce the membrane
input is independently weighted by wj and delayed by τj voltage Vm (t), while those that are excitatory (green arrows) increase Vm (t).
resulting in a time series that is spatially summed (summed Enough excitatory activity pushes Vm (t) above Vthresh , releasing a delta
point wise). This aggregate input induces, between adjacent function spike in yk (t), followed by a refractory period during which Vm (t)
recovers to its resting potential VL [2].
neurons, an electrical current
n
X This LIF neuron model is believed to be more computa-
Iapp (t) = wj xj (t − tj ) (2)
tionally powerful than either the rate or the earlier perceptron
j=1
models, and can serve as the baseline unit for many modern
The result is then temporally integrated using an expo- cortical algorithms. From the standpoint of computability
nentially decaying impulse response function resulting in the and complexity theory, LIF neurons are powerful and effi-
activation state cient computational primitives that are capable of simulating
 t−t0
 1
Z t−t0
s both boolean-complete logic and traditional sigmoidal neural
Vm (t) = VL 1 − exp τm + Iapp (t−s) exp− τm ds networks[1].
Cm 0
(3)
where t0 is the last time the neuron spiked. The parameters IV. E XCITABILITY M ECHANISMS
determining the behavior of the device are the weights wj This section explains what kind of physical system can
, delays τj , threshold Vthresh , resting potential VL and the give rise to the leaky-integration and excitable dynamics.
integration time constant τm . The dynamical lasers can be modeled by partial differential
There are three influences on Vm (t): passive leakage of cur- equations and can be analyzed using the framework of a
rent, an active pumping current, and external inputs generating dynamical system.
time-varying membrane conductance changes. Including a set Solving a set of differential equation analytically is not an
of digital conditions, we arrive at following typical LIF model easy task. But There are some frameworks in which their

Fig. 4. Example of (a) Transcritical Bifurcation (b) Tangent Bifurcation [13]
behavior can be studied without exactly solving the differential
equations. One such framework is Bifurcation Analysis. In this
section first an introduction to bifurcation is given without any
complex mathematics. Further the relevance of this framework
to spike processing is discussed.
A. Bifurcation in simple terms
When behavior of system changes qualitatively with smooth
change of its parameters, we say a bifurcation has occurred.
A typical one-dimensional ODE is written as
ẋ = f (x, α)
where α is a system parameter. To evaluate the equilibrium
points of system one have to put ẋ = 0. For example:
ẋ = x(x − α)
This equation have two equilibrium points x = 0 and x =
α of which one is stable and the other one is unstable. The
stability can be checked by taking the derivative 0f (x) = α −
2x. For α < 0 the equilibrium x = 0 is stable, while for α > 0
this equilibrium is unstable. For the non-trivial equilibrium
x 6= 0 opposite is true. If α is smoothly varied to zero then
two equilibria exchange stability as shown in Fig. 4(a). This
is known as transcritical bifurcation. The Fig.4(b) shows a
tangent bifurcation where two equilibria merge into one stable
equilibrium. Thus qualitative change in behavior on smoothly
changing parameters is called bifurcation[13].
B. Relevance to spike processing
Unlike 1-D, there are three types of equilibrium points in
two dimensional systems. Next to the stable and unstable equi-
librium, there is the saddle equilibrium. A two-dimensional
stable equilibrium is attracting in two directions, while a two-
dimensional unstable equilibrium is repelling in two directions.
A saddle point is attracting in one direction and repelling in
the other direction. A second remark is that also the dynamics
of the system around the equilibria can differ. The attracting or
repelling can occur via straight orbits (a node) or via spiraling
orbits (a spiral or focus).
For spike processing, we are interested in a special bifurca-
tion in which a stable or unstable node meets a saddle point
and they annihilate each other. It is known as Saddle- Node
bifurcation(see fig 5).
Fig. 5. An example of saddle node bifurcation [1]
Some dynamical systems have periodic solutions (X(t) =
X(t + T ). This periodic orbit is called a limit cycle if the
system is attracted back to it upon small perturbation. We are
interested in systems where these periodic excursions are fast
and represent action potentials or spikes. In these dynamical
systems, a saddle-node bifurcation can occur on a limit cycle;
they are referred to as saddle-node on limit cycle (SNLC)
bifurcation (see Fig 6). When this happens, such a local
bifurcation has effect on the global behavior of the system:
if the system is at the right side of a saddle point, the system
travels along the path of the limit cycle and returns to the
attractor node. The qualitative behavior of the system thus
changes from periodic to excitable[5].
(4)
(5)
Fig. 6. Saddle node bifurcation on limit cycle. The state of system is attracted
towards limit cycle on small perturbation which generate spike periodically.
Thus system become excitable on a small perturbation[1].
For spike processing devices we need systems in which
(1) A limit cycle is present and it’s periodic function is a
spike output.
(2) A saddle node bifurcation is possible on this limit cycle.
Many such systems have been studied and utilized by
different groups in recent years[6]-[9]. The list include Two
section gain and saturable absorber lasers, Vertical cavity sur-
face emitting lasers, Semiconductor lasers, Resonant tunneling
diode Photo detector and laser diode[10]-[12]. These different
approaches will be studied in the future.
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