Implementation of high thermal conductivity and synaptic metaplasticity in vertically-aligned hexagonal boron nitride-based memristor

• Published in: Science China materials Vol. 67; no. 6; pp. 1907 - 1914
• Main Authors: Zhang, Haizhong, Ju, Xin, Jiang, Haitao, Yang, Dan, Wei, Rongshan, Hu, Wei, Lu, Xiaoqiang, Zhu, Minmin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Beijing Science China Press 22.05.2024
• Subjects: Chemistry and Materials Science; Chemistry/Food Science; Materials Science; high thermal conductivity; vertically-aligned; boron nitride; low-power memory; neuromorphic computing
• ISSN: 2095-8226; 2199-4501
• DOI: 10.1007/s40843-024-2829-9

The next-generation computing system is required to perform 10 18 floating point operations per second to address the exponential growth of data from sensory terminals, driven by advancements in artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things. Even if a supercomputer possesses the capability to execute these operations, managing heat dissipation becomes a significant challenge when the electronic synapse array reaches a comparable scale with the human neuron network. One potential solution to address thermal hotspots in electronic devices is the use of vertically-aligned hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) known for its high thermal conductivity. In this study, we have developed textured h-BN films using the high power impulse magnetron sputtering technique. The thermal conductivity of the oriented h-BN film is approximately 354% higher than that of the randomly oriented counterpart. By fabricating electronic synapses based on the textured h-BN thin film, we demonstrate various bio-synaptic plasticity in this device. Our results indicate that orientation engineering can effectively enable h-BN to function as a suitable self-heat dissipation layer, thereby paving the way for future wearable memory devices, solar cells, and neuromorphic devices.