A Synaptic Transistor based on Quasi-2D Molybdenum Oxide.

Biological synapses store and process information simultaneously by tuning the connection between two neighboring neurons. Such functionality inspires the task of hardware implementation of neuromorphic computing systems. Ionic/electronic hybrid three-terminal memristive devices, in which the channel conductance can be modulated according to the history of applied voltage and current, provide a more promising way of emulating synapses by a substantial reduction in complexity and energy consumption. 2D van der Waals materials with single or few layers of crystal unit cells have been a widespread innovation in three-terminal electronic devices. However, less attention has been paid to 2D transition-metal oxides, which have good stability and technique compatibility. Here, nanoscale three-terminal memristive transistors based on quasi-2D α-phase molybdenum oxide (α-MoO3 ) to emulate biological synapses are presented. The essential synaptic behaviors, such as excitatory postsynaptic current, depression and potentiation of synaptic weight, and paired-pulse facilitation, as well as the transition of short-term plasticity to long-term potentiation, are demonstrated in the three-terminal devices. These results provide an insight into the potential application of 2D transition-metal oxides for synaptic devices with high scaling ability, low energy consumption, and high processing efficiency.

Electrochemical-reaction-induced synaptic plasticity in MoOx-based solid state electrochemical cells.

Solid state electrochemical cells with synaptic functions have important applications in building smart-terminal networks. Here, the essential synaptic functions including potentiation and depression of synaptic weight, transition from short- to long-term plasticity, spike-rate-dependent plasticity, and spike-timing-dependent plasticity behavior were successfully realized in an Ag/MoOx/fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) cell with continual resistance switching. The synaptic plasticity underlying these functions was controlled by tuning the excitatory post-synaptic current (EPSC) decay, which is determined by the applied voltage pulse number, width, frequency, and intervals between the pre- and post-spikes. The physical mechanism of the artificial synapse operation is attributed to the interfacial electrochemical reaction processes of the MoOx films with the adsorbed water, where protons generated by water decomposition under an electric field diffused into the MoOx films and intercalated into the lattice, leading to the short- and long-term retention of cell resistance, respectively. These results indicate the possibility of achieving advanced artificial synapses with solid state electrochemical cells and will contribute to the development of smart-terminal networking systems.

Moisture effects on the electrochemical reaction and resistance switching at Ag/molybdenum oxide interfaces.

An important potential application of solid state electrochemical reactions is in redox-based resistive switching memory devices. Based on the fundamental switching mechanisms, the memory has been classified into two modes, electrochemical metallization memory (ECM) and valence change memory (VCM). In this work, we have investigated a solid state electrochemical cell with a simple Ag/MoO3-x/fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) sandwich structure, which shows a normal ECM switching mode after an electroforming process. While in the lower voltage sweep range, the switching behavior changes to VCM-like mode with the opposite switching polarity to the ECM mode. By current-voltage measurements under different ambient atmospheres and X-ray photoemission spectroscopy analysis, electrochemical anodic passivation of the Ag electrode and valence change of molybdenum ions during resistance switching have been demonstrated. The crucial role of moisture adsorption in the switching mode transition has been clarified based on the Pourbaix diagram for the Ag-H2O system for the first time. These results provide a fundamental insight into the resistance switching mechanism model in solid state electrochemical cells.