A generic circuit, the charge controlled analog synapse (CCAS) is pres
ented. The CCAS is designed to be the basic building block in microele
ctronic realizations of large scale artificial neural networks. It is
based on representing the synaptic strength as a charge packet which c
ontrols the junction capacitance of a reverse biased diode. The CCAS i
s a synapse with three main features: (i) a small cell with few compon
ents per cell; (ii) a short term dynamic memory, and (iii) a variable
accuracy which depends on the cell size. The principle of operation of
the CCAS is explained. Details of the design of a first prototype are
given. Experimental results which substantiate the theoretical predic
tions are presented. Finally, the basic properties of the CCAS are dis
cussed. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd