Gradual Resistive Switching in Electron Beam Irradiated ReS2 Transistor and its Application as Electronic Synapse

We demonstrate the first electron beam irradiated rhenium disulfide (ReS
₂
) based synaptic transistor. The device exhibits gradual resistive switching (RS) ratio of ~100 at a read voltage (V
_d
) of 1 V. The RS is attributed to sulfur vacancies motion induced by drain bias in ReS
₂
, which modulates the Schottky barrier height (SBH) at source and drain contacts. Defect engineering and flake thickness optimization show that irradiation dosage, area and flake thickness are key parameters to improve the RS performance. In addition, the device is further utilized as an electronic synapse. Long-term plasticity mimicking the behaviors of biological synapse are implemented, showing great potential for next generation neuromorphic computing devices and systems.