Photovoltaic effect in an indium-tin-oxide/ZnO/BiFeO3/Pt heterostructure
Creators
- 1. Institute of Materials Research and Engineering, A*STAR (Agency for Science, Technology, and Research) (Singapore)
- 2. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National University of Singapore (Singapore)
Description
We have studied the photovoltaic effect in a metal/semiconductor/ferroelectric/metal heterostructure of In2O3-SnO2/ZnO/BiFeO3/Pt (ITO/ZnO/BFO/Pt) multilayer thin films. The heterolayered structure shows a short-circuit current density (Jsc) of 340 μA/cm2 and an energy conversion efficiency of up to 0.33% under blue monochromatic illumination. The photovoltaic mechanism, specifically in terms of the major generation site of photo-excited electron-hole (e-h) pairs and the driving forces for the separation of e-h pairs, is clarified. The significant increase in photocurrent of the ITO/ZnO/BFO/Pt compared to that of ITO/BFO/Pt is attributed to the abundant e-h pairs generated from ZnO. Ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy reveals the energy band alignment of ITO/ZnO/BFO/Pt, where a Schottky barrier and an n+-n junction are formed at the BFO/Pt and ZnO/BFO interfaces, respectively. Therefore, two built-in fields developed at the two interfaces are constructively responsible for the separation and transport of photo-excited e-h pairs.
Additional details
Identifiers
- DOI
- 10.1063/1.4899146;
Publishing Information
- Journal Title
- Applied Physics Letters
- Journal Volume
- 105
- Journal Issue
- 16
- Journal Page Range
- p. 162903-162903.5
- ISSN
- 0003-6951
- CODEN
- APPLAB
INIS
- Country of Publication
- United States
- Country of Input or Organization
- International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
- INIS RN
- 46057308
- Subject category
- S75: CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY;
- Descriptors DEI
- BISMUTH COMPOUNDS; CURRENT DENSITY; ELECTRIC CONTACTS; ENERGY CONVERSION; EXCITATION; FERRITES; FERROELECTRIC MATERIALS; INDIUM OXIDES; LAYERS; MONOCHROMATIC RADIATION; PHOTOELECTRON SPECTROSCOPY; PHOTOVOLTAIC EFFECT; PLATINUM; SCHOTTKY BARRIER DIODES; SEMICONDUCTOR JUNCTIONS; SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIALS; THIN FILMS; TIN ADDITIONS; ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION; ZINC OXIDES
- Descriptors DEC
- ALLOYS; CHALCOGENIDES; CONVERSION; DIELECTRIC MATERIALS; ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT; ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION; ELECTRON SPECTROSCOPY; ELEMENTS; ENERGY-LEVEL TRANSITIONS; EQUIPMENT; FERRIMAGNETIC MATERIALS; FILMS; INDIUM COMPOUNDS; IRON COMPOUNDS; MAGNETIC MATERIALS; MATERIALS; METALS; OXIDES; OXYGEN COMPOUNDS; PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT; PLATINUM METALS; RADIATIONS; SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; SEMICONDUCTOR DIODES; SPECTROSCOPY; TIN ALLOYS; TRANSITION ELEMENT COMPOUNDS; TRANSITION ELEMENTS; ZINC COMPOUNDS
Optional Information
- Notes
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