Recent progress in three-terminal artificial synapses based on 2D materials: from mechanisms to applications

Fanqing Zhang; Chunyang Li; Zhongyi Li; Lixin Dong; Jing Zhao

doi:10.1038/s41378-023-00487-2

Recent progress in three-terminal artificial synapses based on 2D materials: from mechanisms to applications

Microsyst Nanoeng. 2023 Feb 17:9:16. doi: 10.1038/s41378-023-00487-2. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Fanqing Zhang^#^{1

2}, Chunyang Li^#^{1

2}, Zhongyi Li^{1

2}, Lixin Dong³, Jing Zhao^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ School of Mechatronical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, 100081 Beijing, China.
² Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Intelligent Robots and Systems, Beijing Institute of Technology, 100081 Beijing, China.
³ Department of Biomedical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon Tong, 999077 Hong Kong, China.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Synapses are essential for the transmission of neural signals. Synaptic plasticity allows for changes in synaptic strength, enabling the brain to learn from experience. With the rapid development of neuromorphic electronics, tremendous efforts have been devoted to designing and fabricating electronic devices that can mimic synapse operating modes. This growing interest in the field will provide unprecedented opportunities for new hardware architectures for artificial intelligence. In this review, we focus on research of three-terminal artificial synapses based on two-dimensional (2D) materials regulated by electrical, optical and mechanical stimulation. In addition, we systematically summarize artificial synapse applications in various sensory systems, including bioplastic bionics, logical transformation, associative learning, image recognition, and multimodal pattern recognition. Finally, the current challenges and future perspectives involving integration, power consumption and functionality are outlined.

Keywords: Electronic devices; Electronic properties and materials.

Publication types

Review