Ferroelectric/Electric-Double-Layer-Modulated Synaptic Thin Film Transistors toward an Artificial Tactile Perception System

Abstract

Tactile sensation and recognition in the human brain are indispensable for interaction between the human body and the surrounding environment. It is quite significant for intelligent robots to simulate human perception and decision-making functions in a more human-like way to perform complex tasks. A combination of tactile piezoelectric sensors with neuromorphic transistors provides an alternative way to achieve perception and cognition functions for intelligent robots in human-machine interaction scenarios. To promote both long-term and short-term plasticity of the artificial synaptic transistor, a composite gate dielectric composed of ferroelectric terpolymer P(VDF-TrFE-CFE) and chitosan was intendedly developed, while amorphous metal oxide InZnO was adopted as the channel layer. The transition from short-term to long-term plasticity function was realized on the basis of the electric-double-layer effect and ferroelectric polarization. Benefiting from its low-voltage operation performance, this synaptic transistor was functionalized by connecting with a flexible piezoelectric poly(vinylidene fluoride) capacitor to exhibit tactile stimulus-excited synaptic behavior. Feedback control was further introduced into the tactile synaptic system to imitate two typical scenarios of sensation and response, including the action of a mechanical claw to pain sensation and spontaneous scratching to itch sensation. This work provides a perspective on achieving intelligent perception for soft robotics and healthcare application.