Seeing smarter with a light-controlled synaptic device

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A thin-film, flexible optical device that mimics the way the human brain senses and interprets visual information has been developed by KAUST researchers[1]. This “optical synapse” may help address the growing need for more efficient artificial vision systems.

“Today’s cameras and computers usually separate sensing, memory, and processing into different parts, which requires data to move back and forth constantly, wasting both time and energy,” explains Manoj Kumar Rajbhar, who worked on the project supervised by Nazek El-Atab. “Our goal was to move closer to the human visual system, where sensing and processing are tightly linked.”

Previous designs for light-sensitive synaptic devices required both electrical and optical signals to operate. They were composed of complex ‘stacks’ of materials, or utilized unstable compounds such as perovskites or black phosphorus. Rajbhar and colleagues designed a synaptic device controlled entirely by light, improving energy efficiency and eliminating the need for electrical signals. Exposure to different colors of light can strengthen or weaken their device’s response, similar to how synapses in the human brain behave during learning.

“In the brain, synapses don’t only become stronger, they can also become weaker,” says Rajbhar. “That balance is essential for learning new information, filtering noise, forgetting unimportant signals, and adapting to changing environments.”

Read the full story on KAUST Discovery.