Enhanced switchable ferroelectric photovoltaic in BiFeO3 based films through chemical-strain-tuned polarization

Ferroelectric photovoltaic (FE-PV) materials have generated widespread attention due to their unique switchable photovoltaic behavior, but suffering from low photocurrent and remanent polarization. Herein, enhanced ferroelectric polarization and switchable photovoltaic in BiFeO3 based thin films were achieved by the optimization of Bi content. The compact and uniform films with few defects were obtained by the control of chemical composition. The remanent polarization increased from 3.4 to 73.9 mu C cm(-2) showing a qualitative leap. Intriguingly, the control range of photovoltaic signal between two polarization directions of the short-circuit current density (J(SC)) and open circuit (V-OC) in present films exhibited an increase of 99.2% and 278.9%, respectively. It is suggested that the ferroelectric polarization was the main driving force for enhancing switchable ferroelectric photovoltaic. Therefore, the present work outstands a simple idea to enhance switchable ferroelectric photovoltaic based on the chemical engineering, providing a promising pathway for the development of photovoltaic devices.

Automated summary

By optimizing the Bi content, researchers have successfully achieved enhanced ferroelectric polarization and photovoltaic effect in BiFeO3 thin films. Compact and uniform films with improved remanent polarization and increased photovoltaic signal control range were obtained through the control of chemical composition. The study suggests that ferroelectric polarization is the main driving force for enhancing switchable ferroelectric photovoltaic.