journal article·2026-06-09Open access

Colossal Photovoltaic Current in Ferroelectric Oxide by Constructing Defect Band

Yiran Sun, Zhenbang Dai, Xingzhong Cao, Peng Zhang, Chen Lin, Zihang Huang, Ruian Zhang, Yi Fu, Xuanyu Jiang, He Tian, Jingjing Xue, Kaifeng Wu, Junhui Wang, Tianqi Deng, Andrew M. Rappe, Gaorong Han, Zhaohui Ren

Abstract

ABSTRACT Anomalous photovoltaic effect in ferroelectric materials has been intensively investigated in the past decades. However, an intrinsic current density in these materials remains very low at µA/cm 2 level, hindering their device applications. Here, we report a colossal photovoltaic current density up to 34.36 mA/cm 2 in PbTiO 3 films with a Pb‐deficient layer under 375 nm light irradiation. The ultraviolet photoresponsivity at zero bias is 20 times higher than that of the emerged ferroelectric materials. A junction effect between the deficient and non‐defective layers in the film is proposed to produce the remarkable photovoltaic current density, while the photovoltage can be maintained by the anomalous photovoltaic effect. Notably, it was discovered that Pb vacancies introduce a defect band within the bandgap, enabling a direct transition from the valence band to the defect band. This transition accounts for a high‐efficient absorption and the prolonged carrier lifetime, thereby contributing to the superior photovoltaic performance. These findings suggest a new route to explore optoelectronic devices of ferroelectrics by the defect design.
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Research context

OpenAlex topics: Ferroelectric and Piezoelectric Materials · Electronic and Structural Properties of Oxides · Chemical and Physical Properties of Materials

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

State Key Laboratory of Silicon and Advanced Semiconductor Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering Zhejiang University Hangzhou China

Oden Institute For Computational Engineering and Sciences The University of Texas at Austin Austin Texas USA

Department of Physics The University of Texas at Austin Austin Texas USA

Institute of High Energy Physics Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China

College of Materials Science and Engineering Zhejiang University of Technology Hangzhou China

Institute of Advanced Semiconductors & Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Power Semiconductor Materials and Devices Hangzhou Global Scientific and Technological Innovation Center Zhejiang University Hangzhou China

Center of Electron Microscope, School of Materials Science and Engineering Zhejiang University Hangzhou China

State Key Laboratory of Molecular Reaction Dynamics and Dynamics Research Center for Energy and Environmental Materials Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics Chinese Academy of Sciences Dalian Liaoning China

University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China

Department of Chemistry University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia Pennsylvania USA

Shanxi‐Zheda Institute of Advanced Materials and Chemical Engineering Taiyuan China

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China · Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province · Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities · Youth Innovation Promotion Association of the Chinese Academy of Sciences

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