The HKU research team led by Dr. Paddy Chan and their collaborator from North Western University have recently presented a high performance organic electrochemical transistor (OECT) with non-volatile memory effect. Their devices are based on a conductive polymer, PEDOT:PSS, with a “ion renting” materials, PTHF. By adding the PTHF into the active layer of the transistors, the ions can be captured or stored inside the PEDOT:PSS active layer and thus the conductance of the transistor can be regulated. The team used the voltage bias, pulse number, and pulse period to control different conductance states inside the device. These OECT memory transistors would be an important player in the neuromorphic computer and artificial neural network system. The HKU team is now expanding their collaboration with University of Michigan on developing a memory transistor with even faster response time and they are targeting to achieve a writing time down to sub-microseconds. Their work entitled “Mimicking associative learning using an
ion-trapping non-volatile synaptic organic electrochemical transistor” has recently published in Nature Communications.
