ABSTRACT Neuromorphic computing has emerged as a promising paradigm to overcome the energy inefficiency and data-transfer bottlenecks of conventional von Neumann architectures by emulating the parallel and adaptive information processing of biological neural systems. To date, most neuromorphic hardware has relied on silicon-compatible or narrow-bandgap materials, which often face intrinsic trade-offs among operating voltage, thermal stability, endurance, and multifunctionality. Wide-bandgap semiconductors (WBGSs)—including Group III nitrides, gallium oxide, silicon carbide, and diamond—provide an alternative material platform enabled by their large bandgaps, strong polarization effects, diverse defect states, and compatibility with electronic and optoelectronic device architectures. This review surveys recent progress in WBGS-based neuromorphic computing, with an emphasis on material-enabled device physics rather than isolated demonstrations. Typical device concepts, including memristors, synaptic transistors, and neuronal devices, are systematically discussed together with their underlying resistive switching, charge trapping, polarization modulation, and optoelectronic mechanisms. Strategies for device integration and performance benchmarking are also addressed. Finally, remaining challenges and future research directions toward scalable and energy-efficient neuromorphic systems based on WBGSs are outlined. ... Read more

Asian mineral dust has been studied extensively for its role in affecting regional-to global-scale climate and for its deposits, which enable reconstructing Asian atmospheric circulation in the past. However, the timing and origin of the dust deposits remain debated. Numerous loess records have been reported across the Asian continent with ages varying from the Miocene to the Eocene and linked to various mechanisms including global cooling, Tibetan Plateau uplift and retreat of the inland proto-Paratethys Sea. Here, we study the Eocene terrestrial mudrocks of the Xining Basin in central China and use nonparametric end-member analysis of grain-size distributions to identify a loess-like dust component appearing in the record at 40 Ma. This is coeval with the onset of high-latitude orbital cycles and a shift to predominant steppe-desert vegetation as recognized by previous studies in the same record. Furthermore, we derive wind directions from eolian dune deposits which suggest northwesterly winds, similar to the modern-day winter monsoon which is driven by a high pressure system developing over Siberia. We propose that the observed shifts at 40 Ma reflect the onset of the Siberian High interacting with westerly derived moisture at obliquity timescales and promoting dust storms and aridification in central China. The timing suggests that the onset may have been triggered by increased continentality due to the retreating proto-Paratethys Sea. ... Read more