Photovoltaics with Ferroelectrics: Current Status and Beyond
Résumé
Ferroelectrics carry a switchable spontaneous electric polarization. This
polarization is usually coupled to strain, making ferroelectrics good
piezoelectrics. When coupled to magnetism, they become so-called multiferroic
systems, a field that has been widely investigated since 2003. While
ferroelectrics are birefringent and non-linear optically transparent materials,
the coupling of polarization with optical properties has received, since 2009,
renewed attention, triggered notably by low-bandgap ferroelectrics suitable for
sunlight spectrum absorption and original photovoltaic effects. Consequently,
power conversion efficiencies up to 8.1% were recently achieved and values
of 19.5% were predicted, making photoferroelectrics promising photovoltaic
alternatives. This article aims at providing an up-to-date review on this
emerging and rapidly progressing field by highlighting several important
issues and parameters, such as the role of domain walls, ways to tune the
bandgap, consequences arising from the polarization switchability, and the role
of defects and contact electrodes, as well as the downscaling effects. Beyond
photovoltaicity, other polarization-related processes are also described, like
light-induced deformation (photostriction) or light-assisted chemical reaction
(photostriction). It is hoped that this overview will encourage further avenues
to be explored and challenged and, as a byproduct, will inspire other research
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