Oxide Synaptic Transistors Coupled with Triboelectric Nanogenerators for Bio-Inspired Tactile Sensing Application

An energy-efficient tactile-sensing element composed of a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) and an electrolyte-gated synaptic transistor (EGT) is presented for biological tactile sensory neuron emulation. As the mechanoreceptor, TENG converts pressure signals into voltage pulses directly. The EGT is used as a neuromorphic device to emulate the behaviors of biological synapse. Typical functions of tactile sensory neuron to perceive dynamic pressures with different intensities, amounts and frequencies are studied. Besides, spiders' ability of identifying prey by sensing the vibrations of cobweb is also emulated.