Moiré synaptic transistor with room-temperature neuromorphic functionality

Moiré quantum materials host exotic electronic phenomena through enhanced internal Coulomb interactions in twisted two-dimensional heterostructures1–4. When combined with the exceptionally high electrostatic control in atomically thin materials5–8, moiré heterostructures have the potential to enable next-generation electronic devices with unprecedented functionality. However, despite extensive exploration, moiré electronic phenomena have thus far been limited to impractically low cryogenic temperatures9–14, thus precluding real-world applications of moiré quantum materials. Here we report the experimental realization and room-temperature operation of a low-power (20 pW) moiré synaptic transistor based on an asymmetric bilayer graphene/hexagonal boron nitride moiré heterostructure. The asymmetric moiré potential gives rise to robust electronic ratchet states, which enable hysteretic, non-volatile injection of charge carriers that control the conductance of the device. The asymmetric gating in dual-gated moiré heterostructures realizes diverse biorealistic neuromorphic functionalities, such as reconfigurable synaptic responses, spatiotemporal-based tempotrons and Bienenstock–Cooper–Munro input-specific adaptation. In this manner, the moiré synaptic transistor enables efficient compute-in-memory designs and edge hardware accelerators for artificial intelligence and machine learning.