Recent Progress of Photodetectors and Optoelectronic Synapses Based on Metal Oxide Thin-Film Transistors

Metal oxide thin-film transistors (MO TFTs) have drawn wide interest in photodetectors and optoelectronic synaptic devices owing to their wide bandgap, low off-state current, high optical transparency, low-temperature processing, and large-area uniformity. Gate modulation in the TFT structure can tune the channel’s initial state and interfacial electric field, enhancing the tunability of photogenerated carrier transport, defect trapping/release, and interfacial charge regulation. This article reviews the progress of MO TFT photodetectors and optoelectronic synaptic devices, and examines the roles of light absorption, carrier transport, defect-related carrier dynamics, interfacial charge control, and persistent photoconductivity in different device functions. For photodetectors, key goals include broadening the response spectrum, reducing dark current, improving spectral selectivity, and enhancing response stability. For optoelectronic synaptic devices, post-illumination conductance retention and slow relaxation enable memory retention and synaptic weight modulation. Thus, rather than being separate, photodetection and optoelectronic synapses are functional extensions of the MO TFT optoelectronic response under different application targets. This article further discusses the synergy between these two functions in array sensing, visual preprocessing, and intelligent vision systems. Future development requires advances in targeted defect engineering, interface and structure optimization, array uniformity, standardized evaluation, and device–circuit–algorithm co-design for low-power, integrable intelligent vision hardware.