Strong bulk photovoltaic effect in engineered edge-embedded van der Waals structures

Zihan Liang, Xin Zhou, Le Zhang, Xiang Long Yu, Yan Lv, Xuefen Song, Yongheng Zhou, Han Wang, Shuo Wang, Taihong Wang, Perry Ping Shum, Qian He, Yanjun Liu, Chao Zhu, Lin Wang, Xiaolong Chen

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

26 Scopus citations

Abstract

Bulk photovoltaic effect (BPVE), a second-order nonlinear optical effect governed by the quantum geometric properties of materials, offers a promising approach to overcome the Shockley-Quiesser limit of traditional photovoltaic effect and further improve the efficiency of energy harvesting. Here, we propose an effective platform, the nano edges embedded in assembled van der Waals (vdW) homo- or hetero-structures with strong symmetry breaking, low dimensionality and abundant species, for BPVE investigations. The BPVE-induced photocurrents strongly depend on the orientation of edge-embedded structures and polarization of incident light. Reversed photocurrent polarity can be observed at left and right edge-embedded structures. Our work not only visualizes the unique optoelectronic effect in vdW nano edges, but also provides an effective strategy for achieving BPVE in engineered vdW structures.

Original languageEnglish
Article number4230
JournalNature Communications
Volume14
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2023

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