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Chemical Synapses

Chemical Synapses

Chemical synapses are specialized sites between two neurons or between a neuron and a non-neuronal cell like a muscle, glandular or sensory cell.
Because chemical synapses depend on the release of neurotransmitter molecules from synaptic vesicles to pass on their signal, there is an approximately one millisecond delay between when the axon potential reaches the presynaptic terminal and when the neurotransmitter leads to opening of postsynaptic ion channels. Additionally, this signaling is...

Chemical Synapses

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Electrical Synapses

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Electrical synapses found in all nervous systems play important and unique roles. In these synapses, the presynaptic and postsynaptic membranes are very close together (3.5 nm) and are actually physically connected by channel proteins forming gap junctions.
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The Synapse

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Translating Extracellular Electron Transfer Activities with Organic Electrochemical Transistors

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Published on: January 31, 2025

Optoelectronic Synapses Based on Hot-Electron-Induced Chemical Processes.

Pan Wang¹, Mazhar E Nasir¹, Alexey V Krasavin¹

¹Department of Physics and London Centre for Nanotechnology, King's College London, Strand, London WC2R 2LS, United Kingdom.

|February 5, 2020

Summary

Researchers developed an artificial synapse mimicking brain function using plasmonic tunnel junctions. This device offers both electrical and optical memory, paving the way for advanced artificial neural networks.

Keywords:

Artificial synapse hot electrons memristor plasmonic tunnel junction

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Area of Science:

Materials Science
Nanotechnology
Neuroscience

Background:

Brain information processing relies on synapses with history-dependent output.
Artificial synapses are crucial for developing advanced computing systems.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop an artificial synapse with both electrical and optical memory effects.
To explore the use of plasmonic tunnel junctions for nonvolatile memory and artificial neural networks.

Main Methods:

Fabrication of artificial synapses using plasmonic tunnel junctions.
Utilizing hot-electron-mediated chemical reactions for electrical information writing.
Employing light illumination to excite hot electrons for optical information writing.

Main Results:

Demonstrated nonvolatile information storage with electrical and optical read-out.
Achieved high device density of approximately 10^10 cm^-2.
Showcased potential for multilevel nonvolatile memory and logic units.

Conclusions:

The developed artificial synapse integrates electrical and optical memory functionalities.
Plasmonic tunnel junctions offer a promising architecture for future electronic and optoelectronic devices.
This technology can advance artificial neural networks and neuromorphic computing.