Organic Neuromorphic Transistors with Crosslinked Poly(vinyl alcohol)‐Based Memory Layers Controlled by Thermal Annealing Process

Abstract Neuromorphic devices, mimicking the human brain's neural system, are considered an important hardware component to realize parallel computing processes for big data and artificial intelligence (AI)‐based humanoid robots. Organic synaptic transistors (OSTRs), one of the viable neuromorphic devices for futuristic soft AI systems, can be fabricated via solution‐based coating processes and offer huge advantages in shape design. Here OSTRs with polymer memory gate‐insulating layers (mGILs) are reported consisting of crosslinked poly(vinyl alcohol) (X‐PVA), in the presence of poly(2‐acrylamido‐2‐methyl‐1‐propanesulfonic acid) (PAMPSA) as a catalyst, which is controlled by adjusting the thermal annealing time at 150 ℃. Results show that thermal annealing for 10 min at 150 ℃ can almost complete the crosslinking reaction of PVA chains and deliver the optimum hysteresis and retention characteristics leading to high‐performing OSTRs that can be operated at low pulse voltages (≤ −2 V). The fine‐tuning of gate pulse conditions enables the present OSTRs to recognize with an accuracy of 96% by simulations of artificial neural network (ANN) matrix platforms, supporting strong potential as a unit transistor for neuromorphic array devices.