Lateral photovoltaic effect based on novel materials and external modulations

Abstract

With the development of nanoengineering and nanotechnology, numerous emerging materials and constructions are being presented in optoelectronics to challenge traditional photoelectric effects and detecting techniques, and are inspiring innovation and growth in photoelectric research fields. Recently, due to its unique working mechanism, the lateral photovoltaic effect (LPE) has been identified as an indispensable and effective method of studying the properties of novel materials and also shows promising application in position sensors and photodetection. This article will present a comprehensive review of the recent progress on the LPE in novel materials, including metal nanomaterials, oxide semiconductors, organic semiconductors, two-dimensional layered materials, and perovskites. Moreover, it is demonstrated that the LPE is also very sensitive to different constructions or external modulations and can be substantially tuned by changing the structure or morphology of materials, adding external fields, and utilizing plasmon resonance. This summary may provide a comprehensive picture regarding the recent achievements of the LPE in novel materials and external modulations. Finally, we also present a discussion of the challenges and potential trends of the LPE in the near future.

Features of the Band Structure and the Mechanism of Lateral Photoconductivity in Hybrid Structures T/SiO-=SUB=-2-=/SUB=-/Si(T=Fe,Fe-=SUB=-3-=/SUB=-O-=SUB=-4-=/SUB=-, TiO-=SUB=-2-=/SUB=-)

“…It should be noted that the extreme dependence of LPE sensitivity on the thickness of the upper layer has been observed earlier in works [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. Generally, the nature of the change in thickness dependence of LPE sensitivity is explained from two perspectives.…”

“…Thus, tunnel-thin layers of SiO 2 allow to create a sharp interface with a predictable value of the built-in potential. It should be noted that most works on LPE in MOS structures propose a model of current transfer, according to which, the photo-generated carriers are separated by an built-in field and are thrown into the upper metallic layer [11,13], and the LPE theory developed earlier for p−n-transitions [1,2] is used to analyze the LPE characteristics. On the other hand, the authors of some works [10,[14][15][16][17][18] believe that the inversion layer at the SiO 2 /Si interface contributes to the lateral photovoltage, assuming the photocurrent flows through the inversion layer, and the role of the metal film in this case is reduced to forming p−n-transition at the interface.…”

“…Among non-contact optical sensors, the attractiveness of LPE-based PSD is due to the absence of additional data processing, high sensitivity, and short photo-response times. As follows from the analysis of the results of numerous LPE studies [12][13][14][15]18,21], the choice of material, both the top layer and the substrate, plays an important role in pulsed illumination. However, a detailed analysis of the transient processes, taking into account the mechanisms of lateral photoconductivity, is not available in the literature.…”

Enhanced Lateral Photovoltaic Effects in n-Si/SiO2/PEDOT:PSS Structures

“…Different from the conventional transverse photovoltaic effect used for solar cells, the lateral photovoltaic effect (LPE) refers to the phenomenon of generating a photovoltaic voltage between two electrodes on the same surface when a light beam illuminates the surface of the device [ 4 , 5 ]. In recent decades, due to the applications in position-sensitive detectors (PSD), LPE was widely investigated in a variety of silicon-based structures, such as metal-semiconductor junctions, metal-oxide-semiconductor junctions, and 2D materials-based heterojunctions [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ]. Till now, the research on LPE has mainly been focused on inorganic devices, with only a few reports on organic LPE devices, such as Co-Alq 3 /Si, P3HT/Al, and ITO/PEDOT:PSS/MEH-PPV:PCBM/Al [ 10 , 11 , 12 ].…”

Giant Lateral Photovoltage in a SiC/Si Heterojunction with a Micro Free-Standing SiC Serpentine Beam

“…LPE can be used to develop self-powered sensing systems with the most common application being the position-sensitive detector. A large number of recent papers report on highly sensitive position-sensitive detectors utilizing a broad range of materials. , Another sensing system that benefits from the development of LPE-based devices is gas sensing systems. − In addition, LPE can enhance the sensitivity of mechanical and thermal sensors. − …”