Piezoelectric-Polarization-Enhanced Photovoltaic Performance in Depleted-Heterojunction Quantum-Dot Solar Cells

Piezoelectric polarization at the ZnO/PbS-quantum-dot (QD) interface can be used to engineer the heterojunction band structure and manipulate the width of the depletion region in the QD layer. This piezotronic modulation enhances charge extraction from the PbS QDs and improves the photovoltaic efficiency of depleted-heterojunction QD solar cells.