International Journal of Nanomedicine (Oct 2020)
Flexible and Transparent Artificial Synapse Devices Based on Thin-Film Transistors with Nanometer Thickness
Abstract
Chaoqi Dai,1,2,* Changhe Huo,2,* Shaocheng Qi,2,* Mingzhi Dai,2,3 Thomas Webster,4 Han Xiao1 1College of Materials Science and Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650093, People’s Republic of China; 2Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo 315201, People’s Republic of China; 3Center of Materials Science and Optoelectronics Engineering, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Chemical Engineering, Northeastern University, MA, Boston 02115, USA*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Mingzhi DaiNingbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo 315201, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86 151 5831 3993Email [email protected] WebsterDepartment of Chemical Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USATel +1-617-373-6585Email [email protected]: Artificial synaptic behaviors are necessary to investigate and implement since they are considered to be a new computing mechanism for the analysis of complex brain information. However, flexible and transparent artificial synapse devices based on thin-film transistors (TFTs) still need further research.Purpose: To study the application of flexible and transparent thin-film transistors with nanometer thickness on artificial synapses.Materials and Methods: Here, we report the design and fabrication of flexible and transparent artificial synapse devices based on TFTs with polyethylene terephthalate (PET) as the flexible substrate, indium tin oxide (ITO) as the gate and a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) grid insulating layer as the gate insulation layer at room temperature.Results: The charge and discharge of the carriers in the flexible and transparent thin-film transistors with nanometer thickness can be used for artificial synaptic behavior.Conclusion: In summary, flexible and transparent thin-film transistors with nanometer thickness can be used as pressure and temperature sensors. Besides, inherent charge transfer characteristics of indium gallium zinc oxide semiconductors have been employed to study the biological synapse-like behaviors, including synaptic plasticity, excitatory postsynaptic current (EPSC), paired-pulse facilitation (PPF), and long-term memory (LTM). More precisely, the spike rate plasticity (SRDP), one representative synaptic plasticity, has been demonstrated. Such TFTs are interesting for building future neuromorphic systems and provide a possibility to act as fundamental blocks for neuromorphic system applications.Keywords: flexible, transparent, TFTs, thin-film transistors, artificial synapse devices, EPSC, excitatory post-synaptic current, PPF, paired-pulse facilitation
