Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Yooun Heo, Hangbo Zhang, Marin Alexe
Summary: Piezoelectricity, an electromechanical effect induced by conversion between mechanical and electrical energy, is a key functionality in ferroelectric oxides. This study reveals a critical pathway for light-induced piezoelectricity enhancement and its dynamic control in a BiFeO3/DyScO3 thin film. By implementing an in-plane geometry operation, the bulk photovoltaic effect can be modulated, leading to a significant increase in the effective piezoelectric coefficient. The study also shows the sinusoidal behavior of piezoelectricity closely linked to photocurrent variations and the persistent behavior of enhanced piezoelectricity after removal of illumination. These findings pave the way for light-induced piezoelectricity enhancement compatible with the photovoltaic effect in ferroelectric thin films for multifunctional nano-optoelectronics.
ADVANCED ELECTRONIC MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yooun Heo, Marin Alexe
Summary: Enhancing the piezoelectric property of BiFeO3 single crystals using light as a control parameter can result in a locally enhanced effective piezoelectric coefficient, d(zz), showing almost a sevenfold increase. This phenomenon is explained with theoretical models involving the bulk photovoltaic effect and Schottky barrier effect, and the role of open-circuit voltage and photocharge carrier density. These results offer key insights into light-induced piezoelectricity enhancement for potential multifunctional optoelectronic devices.
ADVANCED MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Bohong Chang, Bo Li, Zhongxiao Wang, Hui Li, Lian Wang, Lu Pan, Zihao Li, Longwei Yin
Summary: A novel bulk defect suppression strategy is proposed by introducing large organic piperazine cations into the lattice of 3D FASnI(3) perovskite to restrain the generation of bulk defects, enhancing device performance of Sn-based perovskite solar cells.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Hiroaki Ishizuka, Naoto Nagaosa
Summary: The localization of wavefunction due to disorder leads to the occurrence of the bulk photovoltaic effect in a non-centrosymmetric, disordered, one-dimensional insulator. The photocurrent remains present even when the energy scale of random potential exceeds the bandwidth. However, the photocurrent decays exponentially when the excitation is local, and vanishes if the relaxation occurs solely by contact with the electrodes. These results suggest potential avenues for designing high-efficiency solar cells and photodetectors.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Sikandar Aftab, Muhammad Arslan Shehzad, Hafiz Muhammad Salman Ajmal, Fahmid Kabir, Muhammad Zahir Iqbal, Abdullah A. Al-Kahtani
Summary: Researchers have discovered mechanical distortion-induced bulk photovoltaic behavior in MoTe2 material, caused by phase transition and broken inversion symmetry. A large bulk photovoltaic response is anticipated in the absence of an external electric field, which has the potential to improve the efficiency of converting light energy.
Article
Physics, Applied
Yunwei Sheng, Ignasi Fina, Marin Gospodinov, Josep Fontcuberta
Summary: The oscillating short-circuit photocurrent in h-LuMnO3 crystals is found to be largely modulated by polarization back-switching ruled by the imprint field, rather than the prepoling voltage. The study also highlights the significant impact of the imprint field on the polarization dependence of photocurrent.
APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Zhenbang Dai, Andrew M. Rappe
Summary: This article investigates the shift current and ballistic current in the photovoltaic effect and finds that the shift current exhibits a different behavior under strong magnetic field, undergoing a phase transition. This study aims to resolve the debate over the behavior of the photovoltaic effect under magnetic field and inspire further exploration of the relationship between nonlinear optics and quantum geometry.
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Cheol-Yeon Cheon, Zhe Sun, Jiang Cao, Juan Francisco Gonzalez Marin, Mukesh Tripathi, Kenji Watanabe, Takashi Taniguchi, Mathieu Luisier, Andras Kis
Summary: This study demonstrates the bulk photovoltaic effect in centrosymmetric PtSe2 material by breaking the inversion symmetry through structural disorder. The results show that defects in the material can induce photovoltaic functionality, thus expanding the range of materials suitable for light sensing and energy-harvesting applications.
NPJ 2D MATERIALS AND APPLICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Or Shafir, Andrew L. Bennett-Jackson, Alexandria R. Will-Cole, Atanu Samanta, Dongfang Chen, Adrian Podpirka, Aaron Burger, Liyan Wu, Eduardo Lupi Sosa, Lane W. Martin, Jonathan E. Spanier, Ilya Grinberg
Summary: By tuning fundamental ferroelectric properties, a high BPE photoresponse can be achieved in an ordinary thin-film configuration. The responsivity shows a nonmonotonic dependence on ferroelectric polarization, and at the optimal value, it increases by three orders of magnitude compared to the bulk BaTiO3.
Review
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Sikandar Aftab, Muhammad Zahir Iqbal, Zeeshan Haider, Muhammad Waqas Iqbal, Ghazanfar Nazir, Muhammad Arslan Shehzad
Summary: This focused review explores the potential of low-dimensional piezoelectric materials to generate the bulk photovoltaic effect and exceed the theoretical limits of single-junction photovoltaic cells. The mechanism of the bulk photovoltaic effect in 2D materials differs from traditional p-n junction-based photovoltaics and is explained through the shift-current response generated in deformed 2D materials. Prospective approaches for building next-generation solar cells using ultrathin 2D materials are presented.
ADVANCED OPTICAL MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Lu Hu, Youyu Jiang, Lulu Sun, Cong Xie, Fei Qin, Wen Wang, Yinhua Zhou
Summary: The modification of ZnO surface with aqueous polyethylenimine (a-PEI) has been shown to significantly enhance the stability of nonfullerene (NF) organic solar cells, reducing surface defects and preventing decomposition of NF acceptors under illumination while improving device performance.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Physics, Condensed Matter
F. S. Pilyak, A. G. Kulikov, V. M. Fridkin, Yu Pisarevsky, N. Marchenkov, A. E. Blagov, M. Kovalchuk
Summary: The study used X-ray diffraction techniques to observe deformations in iron-doped lithium niobate crystals under laser illumination, separating piezoelectric deformation from heating effects and confirming the manifestation of bulk piezo-photovoltaic effect.
PHYSICA B-CONDENSED MATTER
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Taishi Noma, Hsiao-Yi Chen, Barun Dhara, Masato Sotome, Takuya Nomoto, Ryotaro Arita, Masao Nakamura, Daigo Miyajima
Summary: Researchers have found that the bulk photovoltaic effect (BPVE) in organic-inorganic hybrid perovskites (OIHPs) is not explained by the classical mechanism, but rather originates from the shift current mechanism. This discovery has significant implications for photodetector applications.
ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE-INTERNATIONAL EDITION
(2023)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Yang Chen, Haoming Wei, Mingxu Wang, Bingqiang Cao
Summary: The study investigated the role of domain walls (DW) on the bulk photovoltaic effect (BPV) in BiFeO3 (BFO) films by controlling the epitaxial orientation of the film. It was found that the DW enhanced the transport of photogenerated carriers, improving conductivity and power conversion efficiency (PCE). This correlation between DW and BPV effect in BFO film provides a new pathway to enhance the performance of BFO-based photovoltaic devices.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Jit Dutta, Zhe-Yong Gong, Arijit Mitra, Chuan-Pu Liu
Summary: The study develops a method to enhance thermoelectric performance by using piezo-gating effect to modify the electronic band structure of materials under strain. By incorporating this effect, the power factor of the thermoelectric devices can be dramatically boosted, providing new possibilities for the conversion of waste heat energy into electricity.