Switchable magnetic bulk photovoltaic effect in the two-dimensional magnet CrI3

Publikation: Beitrag in FachzeitschriftForschungsartikelBeigetragenBegutachtung

Beitragende

  • Yang Zhang - , Professur für Festkörpertheorie (gB/IFW), Exzellenzcluster ct.qmat: Komplexität und Topologie in Quantenmaterialien, Max-Planck-Institut für Chemische Physik fester Stoffe, Leibniz-Institut für Festkörper- und Werkstoffforschung Dresden, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) (Autor:in)
  • Tobias Holder - , Weizmann Institute of Science (Autor:in)
  • Hiroaki Ishizuka - , The University of Tokyo (Autor:in)
  • Fernando de Juan - , Donostia International Physics Center, Ikerbasque Basque Foundation for Science (Autor:in)
  • Naoto Nagaosa - , RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science, The University of Tokyo (Autor:in)
  • Claudia Felser - , Max-Planck-Institut für Chemische Physik fester Stoffe (Autor:in)
  • Binghai Yan - , Weizmann Institute of Science (Autor:in)

Abstract

The bulk photovoltaic effect (BPVE) rectifies light into the dc current in a single-phase material and attracts the interest to design high-efficiency solar cells beyond the pn junction paradigm. Because it is a hot electron effect, the BPVE surpasses the thermodynamic Shockley–Queisser limit to generate above-band-gap photovoltage. While the guiding principle for BPVE materials is to break the crystal centrosymmetry, here we propose a magnetic photogalvanic effect (MPGE) that introduces the magnetism as a key ingredient and induces a giant BPVE. The MPGE emerges from the magnetism-induced asymmetry of the carrier velocity in the band structure. We demonstrate the MPGE in a layered magnetic insulator CrI3, with much larger photoconductivity than any previously reported results. The photocurrent can be reversed and switched by controllable magnetic transitions. Our work paves a pathway to search for magnetic photovoltaic materials and to design switchable devices combining magnetic, electronic, and optical functionalities.

Details

OriginalspracheEnglisch
Aufsatznummer3783
FachzeitschriftNature communications
Jahrgang10
PublikationsstatusVeröffentlicht - 22 Aug. 2019
Peer-Review-StatusJa

Externe IDs

PubMed 31439851