Moiré synaptic transistor with room-temperature neuromorphic functionality

Area of Science:

• Condensed Matter Physics
• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Moiré quantum materials exhibit exotic electronic phenomena due to Coulomb interactions in twisted 2D heterostructures.
• Atomically thin materials offer high electrostatic control, promising advanced electronic devices.
• Current moiré phenomena are restricted to cryogenic temperatures, hindering practical applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To experimentally realize and demonstrate room-temperature operation of a moiré synaptic transistor.
• To leverage asymmetric moiré potentials for novel electronic functionalities.
• To enable efficient compute-in-memory and AI hardware accelerators.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of an asymmetric bilayer graphene/hexagonal boron nitride moiré heterostructure.
• Utilizing the moiré potential to create electronic ratchet states.
• Employing asymmetric gating in dual-gated devices for neuromorphic functions.

Main Results:

• Achieved room-temperature operation of a low-power (20 pW) moiré synaptic transistor.
• Demonstrated hysteretic, non-volatile charge carrier injection controlled by asymmetric moiré potential.
• Realized diverse biorealistic neuromorphic functionalities including reconfigurable synaptic responses and tempotrons.

Conclusions:

• The developed moiré synaptic transistor operates efficiently at room temperature.
• This technology paves the way for practical, low-power neuromorphic computing and AI hardware.
• Asymmetric moiré heterostructures are a promising platform for next-generation electronic devices.