A Fully Solution-Printed Photosynaptic Transistor Array with Ultralow Energy Consumption for Artificial-Vision Neural...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Neuroscience
• Electronics

Background:

• Photosynaptic organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) are key for bionic optoelectronics.
• Traditional OFETs consume high energy, exceeding biological synapses, limiting applications like visual prosthetics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a low-power photosynaptic OFET for efficient neuromorphic light perception.
• To reduce the energy consumption of artificial synaptic devices.

Main Methods:

• Introduced a source Schottky barrier in a fully solution-printed photosynaptic OFET (FSP-OFET).
• Regulated charge-carrier injection for a novel operating mechanism.
• Fabricated an 8x8 FSP-OFET array on a flexible substrate.

Main Results:

• Achieved substantial reduction in operating voltage and current.
• Demonstrated ultralow energy consumption (0.07-34 fJ/spike short-term, 0.41-19.87 fJ/spike long-term plasticity), comparable to biological synapses.
• Successfully emulated visual nervous responses and achieved image recognition with an artificial optic-neural network.

Conclusions:

• The FSP-OFET offers a viable pathway to highly energy-efficient bionic optoelectronics.
• This technology enables advanced neuromorphic light-perception capabilities for future artificial intelligence systems.
• The developed device paves the way for realizing photonic neuromorphic functionality with minimal energy dissipation.