Low-Voltage ITO Depressed Synaptic Transistors for Neuromorphic Application

Abstract

Herein, thin-film transistors (TFT) with ITO as the n-channel active layer were prepared on transparent substrates by magnetron sputtering at room temperature. The use of chitosan with an electric-double-layer (EDL) effect as the gate dielectric enabled low power consumption. The relaxation phenomenon induced by ion migration was effectively utilized, enabling ITO synaptic transistors to emulate various synaptic behaviors, including excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSC) and inhibitory postsynaptic currents (IPSC), paired pulse depression (PPD), long term depression (LTD), and short term memory (STM) to long term memory (LTM) transition, highlight the potential of ITO thin film transistors in emulating complex neural processes. Additionally, the devices display frequency dependent capacitance characteristics, indicating suitability for low-pass filter applications in signal processing. The ITO thin film synaptic transistors with paired pulse depressed behavior represent a promising potential for advancing neuromorphic computing systems, offering avenues for further research and development in synaptic bionics, emulating human learning and memory, and neural chips.