Diffusive Memristor with CuS Nanoparticles Embedded in Polymeric Film as Artificial Nociceptor

Rajesh Deb; Debashis Panda; Manjula G Nair; Farhana Yasmin; Yamineekanta Mishra; Awalendra K Thakur; Saumya R Mohapatra

doi:10.1021/acsami.4c12607

Diffusive Memristor with CuS Nanoparticles Embedded in Polymeric Film as Artificial Nociceptor

ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2024 Sep 25;16(38):51757-51768. doi: 10.1021/acsami.4c12607. Epub 2024 Sep 11.

Authors

Rajesh Deb¹, Debashis Panda², Manjula G Nair³, Farhana Yasmin¹, Yamineekanta Mishra¹, Awalendra K Thakur³, Saumya R Mohapatra¹

Affiliations

¹ Solid State Ionics Laboratory, Department of Physics, National Institute of Technology Silchar, Silchar, Assam 788010, India.
² Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, C. V. Raman Global University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha 752054, India.
³ Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology, Patna, Bihar 801106, India.

PMID: 39258865
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.4c12607

Abstract

The threshold behavior and the ion diffusion dynamics in diffusive volatile memristors have a very uncanny resemblance to the transduction process of biological nociceptors. Hence, the diffusive memristors are considered the most suited for making artificial nociceptive systems. To facilitate their widespread adoption, it is imperative to develop polymeric or organic-inorganic hybrid material-based diffusive memristors that are economical, biocompatible, and easily processable. In this study, we present a cluster-type polymeric diffusive memristor where copper is used as the active top electrode. The switching medium comprises copper(II) sulfide (CuS) nanoparticles embedded in poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO). The devices show electrochemical metalization (ECM)-type and bidirectional diffusive volatile memory with high nonlinearity (10⁴) and turn-on slope (5.6 mV/dec). They reliably remain diffusive volatile with up to 10 wt % CuS in PEO and for a wide range of compliance (10^-6 to 10^-2 A) without transitioning to the bipolar nonvolatile type. The low reduction potential of CuS and optimal segmental dynamics of PEO work synergistically to ensure stable and reproducible diffusive memory. The CuS nanoparticles act as bipolar electrodes, undergoing local oxidation and reduction under the influence of the bias. The switching of resistance states in the CuS-PEO memristors is attributed to the formation of cluster-type filaments between CuS nanoparticles within the PEO matrix supported by the participation of copper ions from the top Cu electrode. The observation of low filament temperature and the independence of on-state resistance with respect to the device area and temperature further corroborate the cluster-type filament in CuS-PEO memristors. Using a 5 wt % CuS-based device, an artificial nociceptor is realized, which successfully mimics most of the nociceptive plasticities such as threshold, relaxation, no adaptation, and sensitization.

Keywords: Fowler−Nordheim tunneling; artificial nociceptor; copper(II) sulfide; diffusive memristor; electrochemical metalization (ECM); threshold switching.