Piezotronic Graphene Artificial Sensory Synapse

The human somatosensory system, consisting of receptors, transmitters, and synapses, functions as the medium for external mechanical stimuli perception and sensing signal delivery/processing. Developing sophisticated artificial sensory synapses with a high performance, uncomplicated fabrication process, and low power consumption is still a great challenge. Here, a piezotronic graphene artificial sensory synapse developed by integrating piezoelectric nanogenerator (PENG) with an ion gel–gated transistor is demonstrated. The piezopotential originating from PENG can efficiently power the synaptic device due to the formation of electrical double layers at the interface of the ion gel/electrode and ion gel/graphene. Meanwhile, the piezopotential coupling is capable of linking the spatiotemporal strain information (strain amplitude and duration) with the postsynaptic current. The synaptic weights can be readily modulated by the strain pulses. Typical properties of a synapse including excitation/inhibition, synaptic plasticity, and paired pulse facilitation are successfully demonstrated. The dynamic modulation of a sensory synapse is also achieved based on dual perceptual presynaptic PENGs coupling to a single postsynaptic transistor. This work provides a new insight into developing piezotronic synaptic devices in neuromorphic computing, which is of great significance in future self-powered electronic skin with artificial intelligence, a neuromorphic interface for neurorobotics, human–robot interaction, an intelligent piezotronic transistor, etc.