Publication date: 15th April 2025
Artificial optoelectronic synaptic devices are emerging as key building blocks for in-sensor and in-memory visual processing. A wide range of material platforms is being investigated for the development of this type of synaptic devices, including phase-change materials, ferroelectrics, two-dimensional (2D) materials and memristive oxides [1]. In particular, the integration of 2D transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) with ferroelectric materials has recently demonstrated significant advantages, including low power consumption, long-term memory retention and precise conductance modulation [2,3].
In this work, we investigate the interplay between light, ferroelectricity, and electronic doping in 2D-TMD/ferroelectrics by analyzing the photoluminescence (PL) properties of monolayer MoSe2 deposited onto the polar surface of a periodically poled LiNbO3 crystal. We examine the PL response as a function of incident light intensity and illumination time on domains with opposite polarization. Similar to previous works [4], our results show that light-induced charging processes are strongly influenced by the underlying spontaneous polarization of the substrate, leading to contrasting trends in the PL dynamics depending on the polarization direction. The system exhibits both short-term and long-term synaptic plasticity, the latter governed by trapped interfacial charges that eventually control charge redistribution at the interface. These findings highlight the key role of interfacial charge transfer in TMD-based ferroelectric platforms and demonstrate a pathway toward all-optical control of synaptic functionalities.