In what reads like science fiction, a team of French scientists has developed a transistor that can mimic the main functions of a synapse. The transistor, based on a chemical compound called pentacene and gold nanoparticles, and known as NOMFET (Nanoparticle Organic Memory Field-Effect Transistor), successfully mimics the way in which messages are transmitted from one neuron to another across a synapse.
A transistor, the basic building block of an electronic circuit, can be used as a simple switch; it can transmit, or not transmit, a signal. Researchers say the gold nanoparticles, which are fixed in the channel of the transistor and coated with pentacene, have a “memory effect” that allows them to mimic the way a synapse works during the transmission of action potentials between two neurons–a basic function of the nervous system.
Because of this property, the electronic component is able to evolve as a function of the system in which it is placed. The researchers believe that neuro-inspired computers produced using this technology will be capable of functions comparable to those of the human brain.