Ferroelectric-controlled graphene plasmonic surfaces for all-optical neuromorphic vision

Artificial visual systems can recognize desired objects and information from complex environments, and are therefore highly desired for pattern recognition, object detection, and imaging applications. However, state-of-the-art artificial visual systems with high recognition performances that typically consist of electronic devices face the challenges of requiring huge storage space and high power consumption owing to redundant data. Here, we report a terahertz (THz) frequency-selective surface using a graphene split-ring resonator driven by ferroelectric polarization for efficient visual system applications. The downward polarization of the ferroelectric material offers an ultrahigh electrostatic field for doping p-type graphene with an anticipated Fermi level. By optimizing the geometric parameters of the devices and modulating the carrier behaviors of graphene, our plasmonic devices exhibit a tunable spectral response in a range of 1.7-6.0 THz with continuous transmission values. The all-optical neural network using graphene plasmonic surfaces designed in this study exhibited excellent performance in visual preprocessing and convolutional filtering and achieved an ultrahigh recognition accuracy of up to 99.3% in training the Modified National Institute of Standards and Technology (MNIST) handwritten digit dataset. These features demonstrate the great potential of graphene plasmonic devices for future smart artificial vision systems.