A light-stimulated synaptic transistor with synaptic plasticity and memory functions based on InGaZnOx–Al2O3 thin film structure

• Main Authors: Li, Hua Kai, Chen, Tupei, Liu, P., Hu, S. G., Liu, Y., Zhang, Qing, Lee, Pooi See
• Other Authors: School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2017
• Subjects: Ultraviolet light; Synapses
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/83557; http://hdl.handle.net/10220/42674
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

In this work, a synaptic transistor based on the indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO)–aluminum oxide (Al2O3) thin film structure, which uses ultraviolet (UV) light pulses as the pre-synaptic stimulus, has been demonstrated. The synaptic transistor exhibits the behavior of synaptic plasticity like the paired-pulse facilitation. In addition, it also shows the brain's memory behaviors including the transition from short-term memory to long-term memory and the Ebbinghaus forgetting curve. The synapse-like behavior and memory behaviors of the transistor are due to the trapping and detrapping processes of the holes, which are generated by the UV pulses, at the IGZO/Al2O3 interface and/or in the Al2O3 layer.