Hardware implementation of artificial synapses/neurons with 2D solid-state devices is of great significance for nanoscale brain-like computational systems. Here, 2D MoS synaptic/neuronal transistors are fabricated by using poly(vinyl alcohol) as the laterally coupled, proton-conducting electrolytes. Fundamental synaptic functions, such as an excitatory postsynaptic current, paired-pulse facilitation, and a dynamic filter for information transmission of biological synapse, are successfully emulated. Most importantly, with multiple input gates and one modulatory gate, spiking-dependent logic operation/modulation, multiplicative neural coding, and neuronal gain modulation are also experimentally demonstrated. The results indicate that the intriguing 2D MoS transistors are also very promising for the next-generation of nanoscale neuromorphic device applications.

Recently, CuSbS 2 has been proposed as an alternative earth-abundant absorber material for thin film solar cells. However, no systematic study on the chemical, optical, and electrical properties of CuSbS 2 has been reported. Using density functional theory (DFT) calculations, we showed that CuSbS 2 has superior defect physics with extremely low concentration of recombination-center defects within the forbidden gap, espeically under the S rich condition. It has intrinsically p-type conductivity, which is determined by the dominant Cu vacancy (V Cu ) defects with the a shallow ionization level and the lowest formation energy. Using a hydrazine based solution process, phase-pure, highly crystalline CuSbS 2 film with large grain size was successfully obtained. Optical absorption investigation revealed that our CuSbS 2 has a direct band gap of 1.4 eV. Ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) study showed that the conduction band and valence band are located at 3.85 eV and −5.25 eV relative to the vacuum level, respectively. As the calculations predicted, a p-type conductivity is observed in the Hall effect measurements with a hole concentration of ∼10 18 cm −3 and hole mobility of 49 cm 2 /(V s). Finally, we have built a prototype FTO/CuSbS 2 /CdS/ZnO/ZnO:Al/Au solar cell and achieved 0.50% solar conversion efficiency. Our theoretical and experimental investigation confirmed that CuSbS 2 is indeed a very promising absorber material for solar cell application.

Sb2Se3 is a promising absorber material for photovoltaic cells because of its optimum band gap, strong optical absorption, simple phase and composition, and earth-abundant and nontoxic constituents. However, this material is rarely explored for photovoltaic application. Here we report Sb2Se3 solar cells fabricated from thermal evaporation. The rationale to choose thermal evaporation for Sb2Se3 film deposition was first discussed, followed by detailed characterization of Sb2Se3 film deposited onto FTO with different substrate temperatures. We then studied the optical absorption, photosensitivity, and band position of Sb2Se3 film, and finally a prototype photovoltaic device FTO/Sb2Se3/CdS/ZnO/ZnO:Al/Au was constructed, achieving an encouraging 2.1% solar conversion efficiency.

Interfacial electronic properties of the CH3NH3PbI3 (MAPbI3)/MoOx interface are investigated using ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy and X-ray photoemission spectroscopy. It is found that the pristine MAPbI3 film coated onto the substrate of poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) poly(styrenesulfonate)/indium tin oxide by two-step method behaves as an n-type semiconductor, with a band gap of ∼1.7 eV and a valence band edge of 1.40 eV below the Fermi energy (EF). With the MoOx deposition of 64 Å upon MAPbI3, the energy levels of MAPbI3 shift toward higher binding energy by 0.25 eV due to electron transfer from MAPbI3 to MoOx. Its conduction band edge is observed to almost pin to the EF, indicating a significant enhancement of conductivity. Meanwhile, the energy levels of MoOx shift toward lower binding energy by ∼0.30 eV, and an interface dipole of 2.13 eV is observed at the interface of MAPbI3/MoOx. Most importantly, the chemical reaction taking place at this interface results in unfavorable interface energy level alignment for hole extraction. A potential barrier of ∼1.36 eV observed for hole transport will impede the hole extraction from MAPbI3 to MoOx. On the other hand, a potential barrier of ∼0.14 eV for electron extraction is too small to efficiently suppress electrons extracted from MAPbI3 to MoOx. Therefore, such an interface is not an ideal choice for hole extraction in organic photovoltaic devices.

Pain‐perceptual nociceptors (PPN) are essential sensory neurons that recognize harmful stimuli and can empower the human body to react appropriately and perceive precisely unusual or dangerous conditions in the real world. Furthermore, the sensitization‐regulated nociceptors (SRN) can greatly assist pain‐sensitive human to reduce pain sensation by normalizing hyperexcitable central neural activity. Therefore, the implementation of PPNs and SRNs in hardware using emerging nanoscale devices can greatly improve the efficiency of bionic medical machines by giving them different sensitivities to external stimuli according to different purposes. However, current most‐normal organic/oxide transistors face a great challenge due to channel scaling, especially in the sub‐10 nm channel technology. Here, a sub‐10 nm indium‐tin‐oxide transistor with an ultrashort vertical channel as low as ≈3 nm, using sodium alginate bio‐polymer electrolyte as gate dielectric, is demonstrated. This device can emulate important characteristics of PPN such as pain threshold, memory of prior injury, and pain sensitization/desensitization. Furthermore, the most intriguing character of SRN can be achieved by tuning the channel thickness. The proposed device can open new avenues for the fascinating applications of next‐generation neuromorphic brain‐like systems, such as bio‐inspired electronic skins and humanoid robots.