Engineering and Technology

Disorder-induced bulk photovoltaic effect in a centrosymmetric van der Waals material

C. Cheon, Z. Sun, et al.

Discover how breaking inversion symmetry through structural disorder unravels the bulk photovoltaic effect in ultrathin PtSe₂, a centrosymmetric semiconducting material. This groundbreaking research by Cheol-Yeon Cheon, Zhe Sun, Jiang Cao, Juan Francisco Gonzalez Marin, Mukesh Tripathi, Kenji Watanabe, Takashi Taniguchi, Mathieu Luisier, and Andras Kis reveals the potential of defect engineering in boosting photovoltaic functionality.

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Abstract

This paper demonstrates that breaking the inversion symmetry by structural disorder can induce the bulk photovoltaic effect (BPVE) in ultrathin PtSe₂, a centrosymmetric semiconducting van der Waals material. Homogenous illumination of defective PtSe₂ with linearly and circularly polarized light results in a photoresponse (linear and circular photogalvanic effects, LPGE and CPGE) absent in pristine crystals. First-principles calculations reveal that LPGE originates from Se vacancies acting as asymmetric scattering centers. This work highlights the potential of defect engineering to induce photovoltaic functionality in centrosymmetric materials, expanding the range of materials for light sensing and energy harvesting.

Publisher

npj 2D Materials and Applications

Published On

Nov 21, 2023

Authors

Cheol-Yeon Cheon, Zhe Sun, Jiang Cao, Juan Francisco Gonzalez Marin, Mukesh Tripathi, Kenji Watanabe, Takashi Taniguchi, Mathieu Luisier, Andras Kis