Resistive switching and artificial synapses performance of co-evaporated Cs3Cu2I5 films

Perovskite memristors have garnered significant interest for their potential simulating artificial synapses; however, the presence of the toxic lead-based perovskites has hindered advancements in this field. In this work, a nontoxic, thickness-controllable Cs3Cu2I5 perovskite functional layer is synthesized through a dual-source vapor deposition for the Ag/Cs3Cu2I5/ITO memristor. The co-evaporation method shows advantages of various element, controllable atomic ratio and thickness, free impurity, and continuously uniform film. This device demonstrates an operating voltage of 1.2 V, a low power consumption of 0.013 W, a retention time exceeding 104 s, and an endurance of over 400 cycles. The synaptic behavior is emulated using the memristor, focusing on phenomena such as short-term potentiation and depression, paired-pulse facilitation, and spike-time-dependent plasticity. The migration of Na+ and Cl− ions, which occurs between the synaptic cleft and the postsynaptic membrane in biological synapses, is analogously represented by the movement of Ag+ ions between functional layer and the bottom electrode of the memristor. This process is further analyzed using the Hodgkin–Huxley neuron model. The Cs3Cu2I5-based memristor shows considerable promise for applications in storage systems and artificial synapses.