Artificial optoelectronic synapses based on Ga₂O₃ metal–semiconductor–metal solar-blind ultraviolet photodetectors with asymmetric electrodes for neuromorphic computing

Abstract

Research on optoelectronic synapses that can integrate both detection and processing functions is essential for the development of efficient neuromorphic computing. Here, we experimentally demonstrated an Ga₂O₃-based metal–semiconductor–metal (MSM) solar-blind ultraviolet (UV) photodetector (PD) with asymmetric interdigital electrodes. The Ga₂O₃ PD exhibits a responsivity of 732 A/W under a forward bias of 6 V. The tunable conductance properties of PDs provide a novel approach to synaptic performance. The proposed PDs as artificial synapse realized several essential synaptic function, including excitatory postsynaptic current, paired-pulse facilitation, long-term potentiation, the transition from short-term memory to long-term memory, and learning experience behaviors successfully. At a reverse bias, an ultra-low energy consumption of 140 fJ was achieved. In addition, the optoelectronic synapses demonstrated a recognition accuracy of over 95% in the MNIST handwritten number recognition task. These results suggest that Ga₂O₃ MSM solar-blind UV PDs have high potential for efficient optoelectronic neuromorphic computing applications.

Keywords

asymmetric electrodes / Ga₂O₃ / neuromorphic computing / optoelectronic synapse / solar-blind UV PDs

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RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

2025 The Author(s). Responsive Materials published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Southeast University.