A Transient and Biocompatible Biomemristor Integrated with NonVolatile Memory and Artificial Synapse

Transient electronics have been intensively studied due to their potential in bio-diagnostics and therapeutic areas. However, most devices only serve as the terminal of data collection and storage, and the clinical decision must rely on doctor analysis, which cannot provide timely warning and treatment when facing an emergency. Thus, it is critically important to build a device integrated with data storage and neuromorphic computing that can operate in physiological environments. In this work, a multifunctional memristor with an Ag/combustion zinc oxide/W structure is proposed. The memristor exhibits reliable digital resistive switching performance, including a uniform switching voltage, stable retention time, and robust on/off ratio. Simultaneously, the conductance-modulation capabilities along with biological synaptic behaviors such as short/long-term plasticity are fulfilled in this memristor. Moreover, a three-layer memristor-based neuromorphic network is constructed to perform pattern recognition and achieves a high accuracy of more than 92.2 percent. Dissolution and cell toxicity tests demonstrate the degradable and biocompatible characteristics of the memristor. This work may provide a feasible strategy to integrate information processing and data storage into one biomemristor and pave the way for innovating artificial synapses in bioelectronics applications.