Neural Networks & Learning¶
Largest modern application cluster in the curated catalog: accelerating inference (and sometimes training-related kernels) with stochastic, unary, or hybrid bit-serial datapaths.
Architectural patterns¶
graph TD
In[Activations] --> Enc[Unary / SC encode]
W[Weights] --> EncW[SC / binary / bipolar]
Enc --> MAC[AND-XNOR + count / CIM]
EncW --> MAC
MAC --> Post[Bias · BN · activation]
Post --> Next[Next layer / dequant]
| Pattern | Idea |
|---|---|
| SC-MAC arrays | Replace multipliers with gate-level products + popcount |
| Hybrid stochastic–binary | Keep sensitive paths binary (e.g. BN / residuals) |
| Unary systolic / CIM | Pulse-density codes inside memory-centric tiles |
| BNN-friendly bipolar | ±1 weights map cleanly to XNOR-popcount |
Evaluation checklist¶
When reading NN+SC papers (titles/DOIs on the Paper Map):
- Dataset and task accuracy vs binary baseline
- Stream length or precision mode
- Training aware of hardware noise?
- Energy includes SNGs and memory?
Educational background: Why AI Tolerates Bit Noise.
📚 Primary literature (DOI only)¶
- 65 nm digital stochastic CIM CNN processor: DOI 10.1109/JSSC.2025.3554554
- Hybrid stochastic–binary batch-norm engine: DOI 10.1109/TVLSI.2025.3602991
- Systolic random-increment memory for unary computing: DOI 10.1109/TCAD.2026.3696809
- Multivariate nonlinear function modules (SC-oriented): DOI 10.1109/TVLSI.2026.3662674
Browse all NN entries: Paper Map → Neural Networks & Learning.