Large-area growth of synaptic heterostructure arrays for integrated neuromorphic visual perception chips

Two-dimensional (2D) metal chalcogenides have garnered significant attention as promising candidates for novel neuromorphic synaptic devices due to their exceptional structural and optoelectronic properties. However, achieving large-scale integration and practical applications of synaptic chips has proven challenging due to significant hurdles in materials preparation and the absence of effective nanofabrication techniques. In a recent breakthrough, we introduced a revolutionary allopatric defect-modulated Fe7S8@MoS2 synaptic heterostructure, which demonstrated remarkable optoelectronic synaptic response capabilities. Building upon this achievement, our current study takes a step further by presenting a sulfurization-seeding synergetic growth strategy, enabling the large-scale and arrayed preparation of Fe7S8@MoS2 heterostructures. Moreover, we developed a 3D vertical integration technique for the fabrication of arrayed optoelectronic synaptic chips. Notably, we have successfully simulated the visual persistence function of the human eye using our arrayed chip. Our synaptic devices exhibit a remarkable ability to replicate the preprocessing functions of the human visual system, resulting in significantly improved noise reduction and image recognition efficiency. This study might mark an important milestone in advancing the field of optoelectronic synaptic devices, significantly prompting the development of mature integrated visual perception chips.