Issues

 / 

2020

 / 

April

  

Methodological notes


Ballistic and shift currents in the bulk photovoltaic effect theory


Institute of Automation and Electrometry, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, prosp. akad. Koptyuga 1, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russian Federation

The bulk photovoltaic effect (BPVE) — the generation of electric currents by light in noncentrosymmetric materials in the absence of electric fields and gradients — was intensively investigated at the end of the last century. The outcomes, including all main aspects of this phenomenon, were summarized in reviews and books. A new upsurge of interest in the BPVE has occurred recently, resulting in a flood of misleading theoretical and experimental publications centered around the so-called shift current. Numerous top-rated recent publications ignore the basic principles of charge-transport phenomena and the previous results of joint experimental-theoretical studies. Specifically, dominating (or substantial) contributions to currents caused by asymmetry of the momentum distributions of electrons and holes are missed. The wide-spread basis relation for the shift current ignores the kinetic processes of relaxation and recombination of photo-excited electrons and leads to non-vanishing shift currents in thermal equilibrium. The goals of this methodical note is to specify and argue the benchmarks of the BPVE theory and return studies to the right track in the interest of developing photovoltaic devices.

Fulltext pdf (621 KB)
Fulltext is also available at DOI: 10.3367/UFNe.2019.06.038578
Keywords: media without central symmetry, bulk photovoltaic effect, polarization properties, ballistic currents, shift currents, kinetic processes, photoexcitation asymmetry
PACS: 03.65.−w, 72.10.Bg, 72.10.−d, 72.40.+w, 73.50.Gr (all)
DOI: 10.3367/UFNe.2019.06.038578
URL: https://ufn.ru/en/articles/2020/4/g/
000555762600007
2-s2.0-85091398978
2020PhyU...63..407S
Citation: Sturman B I "Ballistic and shift currents in the bulk photovoltaic effect theory" Phys. Usp. 63 407–411 (2020)
BibTexBibNote ® (generic)BibNote ® (RIS)MedlineRefWorks

Received: 9th, May 2019, revised: 10th, June 2019, 5th, June 2019

Оригинал: Стурман Б И «Баллистический и сдвиговый токи в теории фотогальванического эффекта» УФН 190 441–445 (2020); DOI: 10.3367/UFNr.2019.06.038578

References (43) ↓ Cited by (54) Similar articles (20)

  1. Sturman B I, Fridkin V M Fotogal’vanicheskii Effekt v Sredakh bez Tsentra Simmetrii i Rodstvennye Yavleniya (M.: Nauka, 1992)
  2. Sturman B I, Fridkin V M The Photovoltaic And Photorefractive Effects In Noncentrosymmetric Materials (Philadelphia, PA: Gordon and Breach Sci. Publ., 1992)
  3. Ivchenko E L Optical Spectroscopy Of Semiconductor Nanostructures (Harrow: Alpha Science) 8 (2005)
  4. Young S M, Rappe A M Phys. Rev. Lett. 109 116601 (2012)
  5. Young S M, Zheng F, Rappe A M Phys. Rev. Lett. 109 236601 (2012)
  6. Daranciang D et al Phys. Rev. Lett. 108 087601 (2012)
  7. Brehm J A et al J. Chem. Phys. 141 204704 (2014)
  8. Wang F, Rappe A M Phys. Rev. B 91 165124 (2015)
  9. Zheng F et al J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 6 31 (2015)
  10. Tan L Z et al Npj Comput. Mater. 2 16026 (2016)
  11. Ishizuka H, Nagaosa N New J. Phys. 19 033015 (2017)
  12. Ogawa N et al Phys. Rev. B 96 241203(R) (2017)
  13. Liu S, Zheng F, Rappe A M J. Phys. Chem. C 121 6500 (2017)
  14. Belinicher V I, Ivchenko E L, Sturman B I Zh. Eksp. Teor. Fiz. 83 649 (1982); Belinicher V I, Ivchenko E L, Sturman B I Sov. Phys. JETP 56 359 (1982)
  15. Belinicher V I, Sturman B I Usp. Fiz. Nauk 130 415 (1980); Belinicher V I, Sturman B I Sov. Phys. Usp. 23 199 (1980)
  16. Belinicher V I, Sturman B I Fiz. Tverd. Tela 20 821 (1978); Belinicher V I, Sturman B I Sov. Phys. Solid State 20 476 (1978)
  17. Andrianov A V i dr Zh. Eksp. Teor. Fiz. 81 2080 (1981); Andrianov A V et al Sov. Phys. JETP 54 1105 (1981)
  18. Shelest V I, Entin M V Fiz. Tekh. Poluprovodn. 13 2312 (1979); Shelest V I, Entin M V Sov. Phys. Semicond. 13 1353 (1979)
  19. Landau L D, Lifshits E M Kvantovaya Mekhanika: Nerelyativistskaya Teoriya (M.: Nauka, 1989), §136; Per. na angl. yaz., Landau L D, Lifshitz E M Quantum Mechanics. Non-Relativistic Theory (Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann, 1991), §136
  20. Landau L D, Lifshits E M Statisticheskaya Fizika Vol. 2 (M.: Nauka, 1978), Gl. 6; Per. na angl. yaz., Landau L D, Lifshitz E M Statistical Physics Vol. 2 (Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1991), Ch.6
  21. Belinicher V I, Sturman B I Ferroelectrics 83 29 (1988)
  22. von Baltz R, Kraut W Phys. Rev. B 23 5590 (1981)
  23. Sipe J E, Shkrebtii A I Phys. Rev. B 61 5337 (2000)
  24. C&hato;té D, Laman N, van Driel H M Appl. Phys. Lett. 80 905 (2002)
  25. Bieler M et al Phys. Rev. B 76 161304(R) (2007)
  26. Loata G C et al J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 25 1261 (2008)
  27. Racu A M et al Opt. Lett. 34 2784 (2009)
  28. Kohli K K et al J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 28 470 (2011)
  29. Somma C et al Phys. Rev. Lett. 112 146602 (2014)
  30. Bieler M, Pierz K, Siegner U J. Appl. Phys. 100 083710 (2006)
  31. Bir G L, Pikus G E Simmetriya i Deformatsionnye Effekty v Poluprovodnikakh (M.: Nauka, 1972); Per. na angl. yaz., Bir G L, Pikus G E Symmetry And Strain-Induced Effects In Semiconductors (New York: Wiley, 1974)
  32. Belinicher V I, Novikov V N Phys. Status Solidi B 107 61 (1981)
  33. Al’perovich V L et al Ferroelectrics 45 139 (1982)
  34. Al’perovich V L i dr Fiz. Tverd. Tela 30 3111 (1988); Al’perovich V L et al Sov. Phys. Solid State 30 1788 (1988)
  35. Al’perovich V L i dr Pis’ma ZhETF 33 573 (1981); Al’perovich V L et al JETP Lett. 33 557 (1981)
  36. Al’perovich V L i dr Fiz. Tverd. Tela 24 866 (1982); Al’perovich V L et al Sov. Phys. Solid State 24 488 (1982)
  37. Al’perovich V L i dr Pis’ma ZhETF 31 581 (1980); Al’perovich V L et al JETP Lett. 31 546 (1980)
  38. Ivchenko E L, Pikus G E, Rasulov R Ya Fiz. Tverd. Tela 26 3362 (1984); Ivchenko E L, Pikus G E, Rasulov R Ya Sov. Phys. Solid State 26 2020 (1984)
  39. Lyanda-Geller Yu B, Rasulov R Ya Fiz. Tverd. Tela 27 945 (1985); Lyanda-Geller Yu B, Rasulov R Ya Sov. Phys. Solid State 27 577 (1985)
  40. Ivchenko E L i dr Fiz. Tekh. Poluprovodn. 18 93 (1984); Ivchenko E L et al Sov. Phys. Semicond. 18 55 (1984)
  41. Fridkin V M, Lazarev V G, Shlenskii A L Pis’ma ZhETF 41 153 (1985); Fridkin V M, Lazarev V G, Shlenskii A L JETP Lett. 41 188 (1985)
  42. Fridkin V M IEEE Trans. 60 1551 (2013)
  43. Gu Z et al Phys. Rev. Lett. 118 096601 (2017)

© 1918–2024 Uspekhi Fizicheskikh Nauk
Email: ufn@ufn.ru Editorial office contacts About the journal Terms and conditions