Stretchable photosynaptic transistor with an ultralow energy consumption conferred using conjugated block copolymers/perovskite quantum dots nanocomposites

Abstract

Emulation of photonic synapses offers a promising avenue for developing low-energy consumption of soft electronics, neurologically inspired robotics, and neuromorphic network computation. In this paper, a fully stretchable photosynaptic device with ultralow energy consumption using intrinsically stretchable poly(δ-decanolactone) (PDL)-based conjugated block copolymers (BCPs) with perovskite quantum dots (PeQDs) is first reported. The findings reveal that selectively choosing solvents for the PDL-based BCPs effectively regulates the assembly of P3HT and the accommodation of PeQDs, leading to improved self-aggregation of PeQDs, increased grain size, and optimized interfaces between P3HT and PeQDs The BCPs/PeQDs composite effectively emulates significant features of photonic synapses, such as paired-pulse facilitation (PPF), spike-dependent and short/long-term neuroplasticity, demonstrating excellent performance, including the fastest response time (1 ms), the highest current contrast (4.9 × 105), PPF (1.93) and ultra-low energy consumption (0.3 aJ) at an operating voltage of –0.1 mV. Furthermore, the BCP/PeQDs exhibit remarkable neuromuscular synapse characteristics, including high strain and bending tolerance and spike-dependent plasticity, enabling the devices to achieve high classification accuracy in artificial neural network simulations during tensile strain. The accommodation solvent selectivity of BCP/PeQDs suggests a promising strategy for advancing neurologically soft electronics, human-like pattern recognition, and neuromorphic computation.