Related papers: Unveiling intrinsic bulk photovoltaic effect in at…
We conduct a comprehensive assessment of the electronic and optical properties, as well as photovoltaic (PV) performance parameters for Mg$_{2}$Si and Ca$_{2}$Si using density-functional theory and Bethe-Salpeter equation (BSE) based…
The use of photoferroic materials that combine ferroelectric and light harvesting properties in a photovoltaic device is a promising route to significantly improve the efficiency of solar cells. These materials do not require the formation…
A new approach is introduced to significantly improve the performance of thermophotovoltaic (TPV) systems by using low-dimensional thermal emitters and photovoltaic (PV) cells. By reducing the thickness of both the emitter and the PV cell,…
ReS$_2$ is considered as a promising candidate for novel electronic and sensor applications. The low crystal symmetry of the van der Waals compound ReS$_2$ leads to a highly anisotropic optical, vibrational, and transport behavior. However,…
Due to miniaturization of device dimensions, the next generations photodetector based devices are expected to be fabricated from robust nanostructured materials. Hence there is an utmost requirement of investigating exotic optoelectronic…
Solid systems with strong correlations and interactions under light illumination have the potential for exhibiting interesting bulk photovoltaic behavior in the non-perturbative regime, which has remained largely unexplored in the past…
Light plays the central role in many applications. The key to unlocking its versatility lies in shaping it into the most appropriate form for the task at hand. Specifically tailored refractive index modifications, directly manufactured…
It has been recently claimed that bulk crystals of transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) ReS$_2$ are direct band gap semiconductors, which would make this material an ideal candidate, among all TMDs, for the realization of efficient…
We report experimental measurements for ultrathin (< 15 nm) van der Waals heterostructures exhibiting external quantum efficiencies exceeding 50%, and show that these structures can achieve experimental absorbance > 90%. By coupling…
Photovoltaics (PV) are a versatile and compact route to harness solar power. One critical challenge with current PV is persevering the optimal panel orientation angle with respect to the sun for efficient energy conversion. We…
A variety of fabrication methods for van der Waals heterostructures have been demonstrated; however, their wafer-scale deposition remains a challenge. Here we report few-layer van der Waals PtS2/PtSe2 heterojunction photodiodes fabricated…
We calculate the shift current response, which has been identified as the dominant mechanism for the bulk photovoltaic effect, for the polar compounds LiAsS$_\text{2}$, LiAsSe$_\text{2}$, and NaAsSe$_\text{2}$. We find that the magnitudes…
The rectified non-linear response of a clean undoped semiconductor to an AC electric field includes a well known intrinsic contribution -- the shift current. We show that when Kramers degeneracy is broken, a distinct second order rectified…
Photo sensing and energy harvesting based on exotic properties of quantum materials and new operation principles have great potentials to break the fundamental performance limit of conventional photodetectors and solar cells. As topological…
PN heterojunctions comprising layered van der Waals (vdW) semiconductors have been used to demonstrate current rectifiers, photodetectors, and photovoltaic devices. However, a direct or near-direct bandgap at the heterointerface that can…
Various spectral control techniques can be applied to improve the performance of a thermophotovoltaic (TPV) system. For example, a back surface reflector (BSR) can improve the performance of TPV systems. A conventional metal BSR structure…
Indoor photovoltaics (IPVs) have attracted increasing attention for sustainably powering Internet of Things (IoT) electronics. Sb$_2$S$_3$ is a promising IPV candidate material with a bandgap of ~1.75 eV, which is near the optimal value for…
Complex materials encompassing different phases of matter can display new photoinduced metastable states differing from those attainable under equilibrium conditions. These states can be realized when energy is injected in the material…
Topological insulators are bulk semiconductors that manifest in-gap massless Dirac surface states due to the topological bulk-boundary correspondence principle [1-3]. These surface states have been a subject of tremendous ongoing interest,…
Materials that rectify light into current in their bulk are desired for optoelectronic applications. In inversion-breaking Weyl semimetals, bulk photocurrents may arise due to nonlinear optical processes that are enhanced near the Weyl…