Multisensory integration neuromorphic device based on ferroelectric polar order change in atomic-thick α-In2Se3

A multimodal nociceptor is an essential sensory receptor and can rapidly generate pain signals to make the body avoid potential damage from a variety of different noxious stimuli. Realizing multimodal neuromorphic behaviors in an electronic device is crucial for the development of artificial intelligence yet remains poorly explored. In this study, we propose and experimentally demonstrate an electronic multimodal nociceptor based on the monolayer atomic-thick van der Waals (vdW) α-In2Se3 ferroelectric. The demonstrated device is a semitransparent and flexible two-terminal planar architecture. Under voltage or white light stimuli, the devices all exhibit specific nociceptive characteristics including the “threshold,” “no adaptation,” “relaxation,” “allodynia,” and “hyperalgesia.” When voltage and light are co-stimulated, the device shows a smaller threshold level. Such nociceptive behaviors are attributed to electric or light-triggered ferroelectric polar ordering change. This work bestows two-dimensional vdW ferroelectric materials with a new functional application of the artificial multimodal nociceptors, and also suggests their outstanding potential for the development of artificial intelligence systems, such as biomimetic robots.