The BrainScaleS-2 multi-chip system: Interconnecting continuous-time neuromorphic compute substrates

Abstract: The BrainScaleS-2 SoC integrates analog neuron and synapse circuits with digital periphery, including two CPUs with SIMD extensions. Each ASIC is connected to a Node-FPGA, providing experiment control and Ethernet connectivity. This work details the scaling of the compute substrate through FPGA-based interconnection via an additional Aggregator unit. The Aggregator provides up to 12 transceiver links to a backplane of Node-FPGAs, as well as 4 transceiver lanes for further extension. Two such interconnected backplanes are integrated into a standard 19in rack case with 4U height together with an Ethernet switch, system controller and power supplies. For all spike rates, chip-to-chip latencies -- consisting of four hops across three FPGAs -- below 1.3$μ$s are achieved within each backplane.