Researchers at Oregon State University have developed a light-sensitive digital memory device that combines sensing, memory, and signal processing inside a single phototransistor, potentially reducing the energy cost of future AI hardware. The device, developed at Oregon State University’s College of Engineering and published in Advanced Functional Materials, is also designed to mimic the brain’s crucial ability to strengthen important memories while allowing less useful information to fade over time.
The new device brings AI processing closer to the sensor, rather than forcing data to travel between separate hardware blocks, so some of the work happens right where the light lands. "Our optoelectronic device introduces a new hardware capability that may enable more efficient processing of information directly at the sensor level," said Larry Cheng, project leader and professor of electrical engineering and computer science.
