Optical neural device based on memory-type organic photoconductors.
A variable-sensitivity organic-photoconductive device has been developed by using a memory-type organic photoconductor. The device is composed of an input layer and a memory layer acting as a charge generation and a charge transport layer, respectively. A persistent high-sensitivity state, which corresponds to a modulation of synaptic weights in a neuron model, was obtained by blue light illumination. A photochemical reaction of thiomichler's ketone (TMK) in the memory layer was found to be responsible for the memory formation. As a potential application of this memory-type organic photoconductor to an optical neural device, 2-D pattern storage and calculations were performed successfully.
D000818:Animals; D004553:Electric Conductivity; D008027:Light; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology; D008959:Models, Neurological; D016571:Neural Networks, Computer; D055095:Optics and Photonics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D010777:Photochemistry; D013569:Synapses / Q000502:physiology