Organic neuromorphic electronics: bio-inspired functions and applications

Abstract

The seamless integration of electronics with biology requires new bio-inspired approaches that, analogously to nature, rely on the presence of electrolytes for signal multiplexing. On the contrary, conventional multiplexing schemes mostly rely on electronic carriers and require peripheral circuitry for their implementation, which imposes limitations toward their adoption in bio-applications. Here we show an iontronic multiplexer based on spatiotemporal dynamics of organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs), with an electrolyte as the shared medium of communication. The iontronic system discriminates locally random-access events with no need of peripheral circuitry, thus deceasing significantly the integration complexity. The form factors of OETCs, open new avenues for unconventional multiplexing in the emerging fields of bioelectronics and neuromorphic sensors. Examples of organic neuromorphic electronics for local learning in applications with energy restrictions are also showcased.