Noise-Controlled Signal Transmission in a Multithread Semiconductor Neuron

We report on stochastic effects in a new class of semiconductor structures that accurately imitate the electrical activity of biological neurons. In these devices, electrons and holes play the role of K⁺ and Na⁺ ions that give the action potentials in real neurons. The structure propagates and delays electrical pulses via a web of spatially distributed transmission lines. We study the transmission of a periodic signal through a noisy semiconductor neuron. Using experimental data and a theoretical model we demonstrate that depending on the noise level and the amplitude of the useful signal, transmission is enhanced by a variety of nonlinear phenomena, such as stochastic resonance, coherence resonance, and stochastic synchronization.