Computational Study on Interlocked-Ferroelectricity-Contributed High-Performance Memristors Based on Two-Dimensional van der Waals Ferroelectric Semiconductors

In order to realize the prevailing artificial intelligence technology, memristor-implemented in-memory or neuromorphic computing is highly expected to break the bottleneck of von Neumann computers. Although high-performance memristors have been vigorously developed in labs or in industry, systematic computational investigations on memristors are seldom. Hence, it is urgent to provide theoretical or computational support for the exploration of memristor operating mechanisms or the screening of memristor materials. Here, a computational method based on the main input parameters learned from the first-principles calculations was developed to measure resistance switching of two-terminal memristors with sandwiched metal/ferroelectric semiconductor/metal architectures, which strikingly agrees with the experimental measurements. Based on our developed method, the diverse multiterminal memristors were designed to fully exploit the application of interlocked ferroelectricity of a ferroelectric semiconductor and realize their heterosynaptic plasticity, and their heterosynaptic behaviors can still be well described. Our developed method can provide a paradigm for the emulation of ferroelectric memristors and inspire subsequent computational exploration. Furthermore, our study also supplies a device optimization strategy based on the interlocked ferroelectricity and easy processing of two-dimensional van der Waals ferroelectric semiconductors, and our proposed heterosynaptic memristors still await further experimental exploration.