Increasing bulk photovoltaic current by strain tuning.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 30838328.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1126/sciadv.aau9199 and PMC identifier 6397022.
- Licence recorded as CC BY-NC.
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Abstract
Photovoltaic phenomena are widely exploited not only for primary energy generation but also in photocatalytic, photoelectrochemistry, or optoelectronic applications. In contrast to the interface-based photovoltaic effect of semiconductors, the anomalous or bulk photovoltaic effect in ferroelectrics is not bound by the Shockley-Queisser limit and, thus, can potentially reach high efficiencies. Here, we observe in the example of an Fe-doped LiNbO<sub>3</sub> bulk single crystal the existence of a purely intrinsic "piezophotovoltaic" effect that leads to a linear increase in photovoltaic current density. The increase reaches 75% under a low uniaxial compressive stress of 10 MPa, corresponding to a strain of only 0.005%. The physical origin and symmetry properties of the effect are investigated, and its potential for strain-tuned efficiency increase in nonconventional photovoltaic materials is presented.