Shamiul Alam

Md Mazharul Islam, Shamiul Alam, Md Shafayat Hossain et al.

The revolution in artificial intelligence (AI) brings up an enormous storage and data processing requirement. Large power consumption and hardware overhead have become the main challenges for building next-generation AI hardware. To mitigate this, Neuromorphic computing has drawn immense attention due to its excellent capability for data processing with very low power consumption. While relentless research has been underway for years to minimize the power consumption in neuromorphic hardware, we are still a long way off from reaching the energy efficiency of the human brain. Furthermore, design complexity and process variation hinder the large-scale implementation of current neuromorphic platforms. Recently, the concept of implementing neuromorphic computing systems in cryogenic temperature has garnered intense interest thanks to their excellent speed and power metric. Several cryogenic devices can be engineered to work as neuromorphic primitives with ultra-low demand for power. Here we comprehensively review the cryogenic neuromorphic hardware. We classify the existing cryogenic neuromorphic hardware into several hierarchical categories and sketch a comparative analysis based on key performance metrics. Our analysis concisely describes the operation of the associated circuit topology and outlines the advantages and challenges encountered by the state-of-the-art technology platforms. Finally, we provide insights to circumvent these challenges for the future progression of research.

Jack Hutchins, Shamiul Alam, Dana S. Rampini et al.

The relentless pursuit of miniaturization and performance enhancement in electronic devices has led to a fundamental challenge in the field of circuit design and simulation: how to accurately account for the inherent stochastic nature of certain devices. While conventional deterministic models have served as indispensable tools for circuit designers, they fall short when it comes to capture the subtle yet critical variability exhibited by many electronic components. In this paper, we present an innovative approach that transcends the limitations of traditional modeling techniques by harnessing the power of machine learning, specifically Mixture Density Networks (MDNs), to faithfully represent and simulate the stochastic behavior of electronic devices. We demonstrate our approach to model heater cryotrons, where the model is able to capture the stochastic switching dynamics observed in the experiment. Our model shows 0.82% mean absolute error for switching probability. This paper marks a significant step forward in the quest for accurate and versatile compact models, poised to drive innovation in the realm of electronic circuits.

Md Rahatul Islam Udoy, Shamiul Alam, Md Mazharul Islam et al.

Digital pixel sensor (DPS) has evolved as a pivotal component in modern imaging systems and has the potential to revolutionize various fields such as medical imaging, astronomy, surveillance, IoT devices, etc. Compared to analog pixel sensors, the DPS offers high speed and good image quality. However, the introduced intrinsic complexity within each pixel, primarily attributed to the accommodation of the ADC circuit, engenders a substantial increase in the pixel pitch. Unfortunately, such a pronounced escalation in pixel pitch drastically undermines the feasibility of achieving high-density integration, which is an obstacle that significantly narrows down the field of potential applications. Nonetheless, designing compact conversion circuits along with strategic integration of 3D architectural paradigms can be a potential remedy to the prevailing situation. This review article presents a comprehensive overview of the vast area of DPS technology. The operating principles, advantages, and challenges of different types of DPS circuits have been analyzed. We categorize the schemes into several categories based on ADC operation. A comparative study based on different performance metrics has also been showcased for a well-rounded understanding.

Shamiul Alam, Md Shafayat Hossain, Ahmedullah Aziz

Controlling the spread of infectious diseases, such as the ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, is one of the most challenging problems for human civilization. The world is more populous and connected than ever before, and therefore, the rate of contagion for such diseases often becomes stupendous. The development and distribution of testing kits cannot keep up with the demand, making it impossible to test everyone. The next best option is to identify and isolate the people who come in close contact with an infected person. However, this apparently simple process, commonly known as - contact tracing, suffers from two major pitfalls: the requirement of a large amount of manpower to track the infected individuals manually and the breach in privacy and security while automating the process. Here, we propose a Bluetooth based contact tracing hardware with anonymous IDs to solve both the drawbacks of the existing approaches. The hardware will be a wearable device that every user can carry conveniently. This device will measure the distance between two users and exchange the IDs anonymously in the case of a close encounter. The anonymous IDs stored in the device of any newly infected individual will be used to trace the risky contacts and the status of the IDs will be updated consequently by authorized personnel. To demonstrate the concept, we simulate the working procedure and highlight the effectiveness of our technique to curb the spread of any contagious disease.