Effects of the film thickness and poling electric field on photovoltaic performances of (Pb,La)(Zr,Ti)O3 ferroelectric thin film-based devices

Abstract The ferroelectric photovoltaic (FPV) effect obtained in inorganic perovskite ferroelectric materials has received much attention because of its large potential in preparing FPV devices with superior stability, high open-circuit voltage (Voc) and large short-circuit current density (Jsc). In order to obtain suitable thickness for the ferroelectric thin film as light absorption layer, in which, the sunlight can be fully absorbed and the photo-generated electrons and holes are recombined as few as possible, we prepare Pb0.93La0.07(Zr0.6Ti0.4)0.9825O3 (PLZT) ferroelectric thin films with different layer numbers by the sol-gel method and based on these thin films, obtain FPV devices with FTO/PLZT/Au structure. By measuring photovoltaic properties, it is found that the device with 4 layer-PLZT thin film (~300 nm thickness) exhibits the largest Voc and Jsc and the photovoltaic effect obviously depends on the value and direction of the poling electric field. When the device is applied a negative poling electric field, both the Voc and Jsc are significantly higher than those of the device applied the positive poling electric field, due to the depolarization field resulting from the remnant polarization in the same direction with the built-in electric field induced by the Schottky barrier, and the higher the negative poling electric field, the larger the Voc and Jsc. At a -333 kV/cm poling electric field, the FPV device exhibits the most superior photovoltaic properties with a Voc of as high as 0.73 V and Jsc of as large as 2.11 μA/cm2. This work opens a new way for developing ferroelectric photovoltaic devices with good properties.