High-Performing Transparent ZnO/NiO Pyroelectric Devices With Frequency Modulation

With the growing interest in renewable technologies, pyroelectric materials are gaining attention owing to their ability to convert thermal energy into electrical energy.In this study, a transparent photovoltaic (TPV) structure was achieved using a heterojunction of n-type ZnO and p-type NiO.Owing to its wide energy bandgap, the ZnO/NiO device has high optical transparency (62%) and provides photovoltaic power generation.Beyond the photovoltaic behavior, the transparent pyroelectric effect was realized by varying the frequency from 3,000 to 0.5 Hz.Results reveal an inverse correlation between the frequency and pyrocurrent, with the pyrocurrent increasing from 0.607 to 2.657 mA with decreasing frequency.Below a certain threshold, an exponential increase in the pyrocurrent occurs.This behavior is attributed to the extended response time of the material to temperature changes at lower frequencies.The results of this study indicate that the ZnO-based TPV device can efficiently generate pyrocurrent.As the pyrocurrent increases, both the responsivity and detectivity improve, indicating that the TPV device can operate more effectively.Moreover, the integration of pyroelectric and photovoltaic effects within the device paves the way for advanced self-powered systems with enhanced sensitivity for UV detection.Overall, this study provides an approach for optimizing TPV performance using pyroelectric materials for future energy solutions.