An Ion-Mediated Spiking Chemical Neuron based on Mott Memristor.

Artificial spiking neurons capable of interpreting ionic information into electrical spikes are critical to mimic biological signaling systems. Mott memristors are attractive for constructing artificial spiking neurons due to their simple structure, low energy consumption, and rich neural dynamics. However, challenges remain in achieving ion-mediated spiking and biohybrid-interfacing in Mott neurons. Here, a biomimetic spiking chemical neuron (SCN) utilizing an NbO Mott memristor and oxide field-effect transistor-type chemical sensor is introduced. The SCN exhibits both excitation and inhibition spiking behaviors toward ionic concentrations akin to biological neural systems. It demonstrates spiking responses across physiological and pathological Na concentrations (1-200 × 10 m). The Na-mediated SCN enables both frequency encoding and time-to-first-spike coding schemes, illustrating the rich neural dynamics of Mott neuron. In addition, the SCN interfaced with L929 cells facilitates real-time modulation of ion-mediated spiking under both normal and salty cellular microenvironments.