Functional Interface Blocks for Neuromorphic Hardware: A Junction-Centered Framework
Heterogeneous neuromorphic hardware integrates devices with dissimilar electrical characteristics and dynamics, making functional compatibility at their interconnections a primary design challenge. Direct coupling alone is insufficient to ensure correct operation, because the load-line conditions established at each junction determine the effective operating regime. Here, we propose a junction-centered interface framework in which inter-device connections are described through assigned drive/sense roles and organized into canonical functional interface blocks. As a concrete hardware realization, a second-generation current conveyor (CCII)-based implementation is then adopted as a composite realization of these interface primitives. The framework is validated experimentally in a Pavlovian-conditioning demonstrator combining a memristive synapse with a unijunction-transistor (UJT) post-neuron. By linking local junction conditions to reusable interface functions, the proposed methodology provides a systematic basis for the design and analysis of heterogeneous neuromorphic systems.