NEURAL NETWORKS CONTAINING VARIABLE RESISTORS AS SYNAPSES

A synthetic neural network having a plurality of neuronal elements arranged in an input layer, an output layer, and a hidden layer between the input layer and the output layer. The network has a first plurality of synaptic weighting elements interconnecting the neuronal elements of the input layer with the neuronal elements of the hidden layer, and a second plurality of synaptic weighting elements interconnecting the neuronal elements of the hidden layer with the neuronal elements of the output layer. The improvement involves the synaptic weighting elements in the synthetic neural network being in the form of a silicon dioxide film derived from a hydrogen silsesquioxane resin. Such a silicon dioxide film is characterized by a jV curve which includes both linear and non-linear regions.