Giant infrared bulk photovoltaic effect in tellurene for broad-spectrum neuromodulation
Given the surpassing of the Shockley-Quiesser efficiency limit in conventional p-n junction photovoltaic effect, bulk photovoltaic effect (BPVE) has garnered significant research interest. However, the BPVE primarily focuses on a narrow wavelength range, limiting its potential applications. Here we report a giant infrared bulk photovoltaic effect in tellurene (Te) for broad-spectrum neuromodulation. The generated photocurrent in uniformly illuminated Te excludes other photoelectric effects and is attributed to the BPVE. The bulk photovoltaic wavelength in Te spans a wide range from the ultraviolet (390 nm) to the mid-infrared (3.8 µm). Moreover, the photocurrent density of 70.4 A cm<sup>-2</sup> under infrared light simulation outperforms that in previous ultraviolet and visible semiconductors as well as infrared semimetals. Te attached to the dendrites or somata of the cortical neurons successfully elicit action potentials under broad-spectrum light irradiation. This work lays the foundation for the further development of infrared BPVE in narrow bandgap materials.
Authors
- Chunhua Tan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7582-2904)
- Yiye Yu
- Weida Hu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5278-8969)
- Peng Zhou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7301-1013)
- Runzhang Xie (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2389-9816)
- Fang Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3044-0571)
- Yang Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4736-6213)
- Peng Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7287-7595)
- Zhen Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7072-9003)
- Ting He (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6653-6356)
- Shuijin He (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1326-4326)
- Fang Zhong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0236-5578)
- Meng Peng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8301-5790)
- Zhenhan Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4624-0846)
Institutions
- Fudan University (CN)
- ShanghaiTech University (CN)
- Wuhan Textile University (CN)
- Shanghai Fudan Microelectronics (China) (CN)
- Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics (CN)
- Shanghai Clinical Research Center (CN)
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- State Key Laboratory of ASIC and System
Publication Details
- Journal
- Light Science & Applications
- Published
- 2024-09-27
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41377-024-01640-w
- Citations
- 40
- Primary Topic
- Photoreceptor and optogenetics research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 10.73
Funders
- Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Narodowym Centrum Nauki
- National Key Research and Development Program of China