Building ultrasensitive and ultrathin phototransistors and photonic synapses using hybrid superstructures

Organic-inorganic halide perovskite quantum dots (PQDs) form an attractive class of materials for optoelectronic applications. Their charge transport properties are, however, inferior compared to materials such as graphene. Conversely, graphene contains a charge generation efficiency that is too low for applications in optoelectronics. In a new report, Basudev Pradhan and a research team at the Nanoscience Technology Center, and the departments of Optics and Photonics, Materials Science Engineering, Physics and Chemistry at the University of Central Florida, U.S., Developed an ultrathin photon transistor and photonic synapses using graphene-PQD (graphene-perovskite quantum dot; G-PQD) superstructures. To prepare the superstructures they grew PQDs directly from a graphene lattice. Phototransistors made of G-QPDs exhibited excellent responsivity and specific detectivity. The light-assisted memory effects of the superstructures allowed photonic synaptic behavior for neuromorphic computing, which the team demonstrated through facial recognition applications with the assistance of machine learning. Pradhan et al. expect the G-PQD superstructure to bolster new directions to develop highly effective optoelectronic devices.