Spiking Neuron with Sensing Coil Based on a Volatile Memristor

The convergence of sensing and processing is a critical frontier in the development of energy-efficient spiking edge intelligence. This paper presents a novel hardware implementation of a sensory neuron evolving from the leaky integrate-and-fire (LIF) model by coupling a volatile memristor with an LC tank circuit. The proposed memristor-resistor-inductor-capacitor (MRLC) neuron embeds electromagnetic sensing directly into neuronal dynamics, enabling direct transduction of proximity information into spike trains. We demonstrate that the circuit functions as a metal-sensitive proximity sensor with spiking output in both simulation and physical experiments. Moreover, the MRLC neuron exhibits rich dynamical regimes, including regular spiking, bursting with 2-5 spikes per burst, and quasi-chaotic behavior, as well as sensing memory provided by hysteresis-like multistability, which is a notable advancement over simple rate-encoding LIF neurons.