Tunable Plasticity in Printed Optoelectronic Synaptic Transistors by Contact Engineering

Metal oxide semiconductors thin film transistors (TFTs) have become important candidates for neuromorphic computing applications by simulating the functions of biological synapses. In this article, optoelectronic synaptic transistors with tunable plasticity are achieved by utilizing printed indium tin oxide (ITO) channel and Ag/ITO dual-layer contact electrodes. The Ag/ITO dual-layer electrodes not only provide ITO TFTs with high electrical performance but enabled them with tunable plasticity. Under the synergistic electrical and optical modulation, both the short- and long-term plasticity in the printed ITO synaptic TFTs are emulated. These achievements are of great significance for applying printed synaptic transistors in optoelectronic neuromorphic hardware.