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Journal Article
Synaptic transistor implementing potentiation or depression via field distribution modulation of dual dielectric layers by single-polarity pulsed voltage stimuli
- Authors
- Jieun Kim, Jung Wook Lim, Chohyeon Park, Chaerin Yu, Jaehee Lee
- Issue Date
- 2025-03
- Citation
- Materials Today Advances, v.25, pp.1-9
- ISSN
- 2590-0498
- Publisher
- Elsevier
- Language
- English
- Type
- Journal Article
- Abstract
- Understanding and simulating the synaptic plasticity mechanisms of the human brain are crucial for advancing neuromorphic computers for artificial intelligence (AI) and humanoid applications. This study designs, fabricates, and characterizes a dual-gate dielectric synaptic device that utilizes interfacial charge traps to mimic long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD), which are essential for learning and memory. The device is fabricated using a standard complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor process and is composed of a TiO
2 channel deposited over a dual dielectric of SiOx on Al2 O3. Biological LTP and LTD occur in the hippocampus and involve complex neurotransmitter interactions, notably through N-methyl-D-aspartate and α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptors. In this device, the thickness of the Al2 O3 layer determines the synaptic behavior; increasing the Al2 O3 thickness increases the voltage across Al2 O3 but decreases the voltage across the SiOx layer. Therefore, the electric field distribution determines whether conduction is primarily driven by trapped holes from the charge-storage layer or electrons in the TiO2 channel. Also, by simply varying the applied voltage pulse widths, a single device comprising a thin 10 nm Al2 O3 layer can display potentiation or depression with voltage pulses of the same polarity. These results indicate that our device has the potential to function as a synaptic device, effectively replicating brain-like processes and thereby advancing cognitive computing and AI applications.
- KSP Keywords
- AI Applications, Complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor(CMOS), Human brain, Learning and memory, Long-term depression, Metal-oxide(MOX), N-methyl-D-aspartate(NMDA), Plasticity mechanisms, Pulsed voltage, Semiconductor process, Single device
This work is distributed under the term of Creative Commons License (CCL)
(CC BY)
(CC BY)
