Violet-light stimulated synaptic and learning functions in a zinc-tin oxide photoelectric transistor for neuromorphic computation.

In contrast to the commonly present UV light-stimulated synaptic oxide thin-film transistors, this study demonstrates a violet light (wavelength of 405 nm) stimulated zinc-tin oxide (ZTO) photoelectric transistor for potential application in optical neuromorphic computation. Owing to the light-induced oxygen vacancy ionization and persistent photoconductivity effect in ZTO, this device well imitates prominent synaptic functions, including photonic potentiation, electric depression, and short-term memory (STM) to long-term memory (LTM) transition. A highly linear and broad dynamic range of photonic potentiation can be achieved by modulating the light power density, while electric depression is realized by gate voltage pulsing.