The bulk photovoltaic effect as a novel mechanism for sensing devices and applications

Abstract

The bulk photovoltaic effect describes the generation of photocurrents and photovoltages in bulk materials lacking a center of symmetry. Its principal mechanism is "shift current," a nonlinear-optical, inherently quantum mechanical process. While most attention has been devoted to its prospects as a means of solar energy capture, shift current bulk photovoltaic effect possesses a number of distinguishing features that make it well-suited to sensing and switching applications: photovoltages substantially exceeding the material's band gap, response amplitudes and directions that can depend on both photon energy and polarization, and response that occurs on ultrafast timescales.

Shift current photovoltaic effect in a ferroelectric charge-transfer complex

“…Thin film growth is another necessary direction to pursue to improve the efficiency 47 . In addition to applications for energy harvesting, the ultra-fast response time of the shift current is considered useful for many devices including sensors and actuators 48 . This study suggests that strongly correlated electron systems exhibiting electronic ferroelectricity, such as organic CT complexes, show great potential for novel optoelectric devices.…”