Colossal Photovoltaic Current in Ferroelectric Oxide by Constructing Defect Band
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.
Authors
- Zhaohui Ren (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9109-8773)
- Kaifeng Wu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1047-6606)
- Xuanyu Jiang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5307-0393)
- Andrew M. Rappe (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4620-6496)
- Tianqi Deng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9826-7138)
- P F Zhang
- Le Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0382-5863)
- Junhui Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9314-143X)
- Yiran Sun (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-7879-6681)
- Zhenbang Dai
- Yi Fu
- Z Z Huang
- R Zhang
- He Tian
- Jingjing Xue (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7861-8367)
- Xingzhong Cao
- Gaorong Han
Institutions
- Zhejiang University of Science and Technology (CN)
- Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (CN)
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Shanxi Electromechanical Design and Research Institute (CN)
- Institute of High Energy Physics (CN)
- Research Institute of Semiconductor Devices (RU)
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Zhejiang University of Technology (CN)
- Zhejiang University (CN)
- University of Pennsylvania (US)
- The University of Texas at Austin (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Advanced Science
- Published
- 2026-06-09
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.76000
- Primary Topic
- Ferroelectric and Piezoelectric Materials
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Youth Innovation Promotion Association of the Chinese Academy of Sciences
- Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities
- Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province