All‐Optical‐Controlled Excitatory and Inhibitory Synaptic Signaling through Bipolar Photoresponse of an Oxide‐Based Phototransistor

Abstract

Using light signals for computation and communication is a vital approach for advanced neuromorphic designs. In this study, an all‐optical‐controlled IGZO/ZrOx phototransistor is demonstrated to emulate synaptic functions via both positive and negative photoresponse arisen from the ionization of neutral oxygen vacancies (VO) and metalmetal bonding (MM) defects in IGZO at an illumination with visible light (405 and 520 nm) and near‐infrared light (750, 890, and 980 nm), respectively. With the coupling effect of photogenerated electrons and the charged MM++ defect scattering, the IGZO/ZrOx photosynaptic transistor not only shows broadband photosensing performance but also emulates the excitatory/inhibitory contrasting synaptic functions, such as learning‐ and regulating‐experience behavior of human brain, via applying 405 and 890 nm light pulses, respectively. The all‐optical‐controlled IGZO/ZrOx photosynaptic transistor therefore may convey optical information effectually for the streaming sensor processing in biologically inspired computer vision application.

Porous crystalline materials for memories and neuromorphic computing systems

“…Additionally, all-optical synaptic devices offer highly controllable characteristics for synaptic weight through light pulses with a small V read , thereby demonstrating low energy consumption, high signal compatibility, and the ability to process spatio-temporal information. 550–554 Due to their exceptional designability in terms of structure and composition, porous crystalline materials can be equipped with outstanding optical-electronic properties, making them highly promising for the development of energy-efficient all-optical synaptic devices.…”

Optoelectronic synapses based on a triple cation perovskite and Al/MoO3 interface for neuromorphic information processing

“…4,5 Owing to the progress in bionics and micro/nano electronics, memristor-type electronic devices have now been developed for simultaneously storing and processing data. 6–9 Memristor-type devices, called artificial synaptic devices, have been widely studied because they can effectively simulate the working mechanism of human neurons and synapses. 10–12 This is usually considered as the underlying device for implementing brain-like sensing and computing.…”