Reconfigurable Photodetection and Neuromorphic Synapse of GaSb Nanowire Heterojunctions for Visual Perception

Abstract In this work, the wavelength-selective reconfigurable optoelectronic devices capable of autonomously switching between photodetection and neuromorphic synapse are demonstrated by constructing GaSb nanowire (NW) heterojunctions for adaptive visual perception. With an optimal growth time, the NW heterojunctions achieve stable photodetection performance at illumination wavelengths of ≥1310 nm, enabling the desirable stable near-infrared imaging. At illumination wavelengths of ≤850 nm, the obvious synaptic behaviors are observed, such as synaptic weight increases from 15.5% to 50.6% with an increase of the pulse number, thereby facilitating robust adaptive visual perception with recognition accuracy exceeding 85% under a noise level of 0.9. This wavelength-selective reconfiguration behavior originates from the distinct photoresponse bandwidth of the heterojunction, together with heterojunction-mediated carrier trapping dynamics. In the end, a conceptual autonomous-driving scenario under noisy conditions is demonstrated, achieving over 90% recognition accuracy. This work paves the way of Group III–V NWs in the coming intelligent vision systems.