Correlation between electronic polarization and shift current in cubic and hexagonal semiconductors LiZn$X$ ($X$ = P, As, Sb)

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Main Authors: Dey, Urmimala, Brink, Jeroen van den, Ray, Rajyavardhan
Format: Preprint
Published: 2023
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_version_ 1866910819237756928
author Dey, Urmimala
Brink, Jeroen van den
Ray, Rajyavardhan
author_facet Dey, Urmimala
Brink, Jeroen van den
Ray, Rajyavardhan
contents The rectified bulk photovoltaic effect (BPVE) in noncentrosymmetric semiconductors, also called shift current, is considered promising for optoelectronic devices, terahertz emission and possibly solar energy harvesting. A clear understanding of the shift current mechanism and search for materials with large shift current is, therefore, of immense interest. $ABC$ semiconductors LiZn$X$ ($X$ = N, P, As, and Sb) can be stabilized in cubic as well as hexagonal morphologies lacking inversion symmetry$-$an ideal platform to investigate the significant contributing factors to shift current, such as the role of structure and chemical species. Using density-functional calculations properly accounting for the electronic bandgaps, the shift current conductivities in LiZn$X$ ($X$ = P, As, Sb) are found to be approximately an order of magnitude larger than the well-known counterparts and peak close to the maximum solar radiation intensity. Notably, hexagonal LiZnSb shows a peak shift current conductivity of $\sim -75 ~\rm{\rmμ}$A/V$^2$ and Glass coefficient of $ -20$ $\times$ 10$^{-8}$ cm/V, comparable to the highest predicted values in literature. Our comparative analysis reveals a quantitative relationship between the shift current response and the electronic polarization. These findings not only posit Li-Zn-based $ABC$ semiconductors as viable material candidates for potential applications but also elucidates key aspects of the structure-BPVE relationship.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2302_04861
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Correlation between electronic polarization and shift current in cubic and hexagonal semiconductors LiZn$X$ ($X$ = P, As, Sb)
Dey, Urmimala
Brink, Jeroen van den
Ray, Rajyavardhan
Materials Science
The rectified bulk photovoltaic effect (BPVE) in noncentrosymmetric semiconductors, also called shift current, is considered promising for optoelectronic devices, terahertz emission and possibly solar energy harvesting. A clear understanding of the shift current mechanism and search for materials with large shift current is, therefore, of immense interest. $ABC$ semiconductors LiZn$X$ ($X$ = N, P, As, and Sb) can be stabilized in cubic as well as hexagonal morphologies lacking inversion symmetry$-$an ideal platform to investigate the significant contributing factors to shift current, such as the role of structure and chemical species. Using density-functional calculations properly accounting for the electronic bandgaps, the shift current conductivities in LiZn$X$ ($X$ = P, As, Sb) are found to be approximately an order of magnitude larger than the well-known counterparts and peak close to the maximum solar radiation intensity. Notably, hexagonal LiZnSb shows a peak shift current conductivity of $\sim -75 ~\rm{\rmμ}$A/V$^2$ and Glass coefficient of $ -20$ $\times$ 10$^{-8}$ cm/V, comparable to the highest predicted values in literature. Our comparative analysis reveals a quantitative relationship between the shift current response and the electronic polarization. These findings not only posit Li-Zn-based $ABC$ semiconductors as viable material candidates for potential applications but also elucidates key aspects of the structure-BPVE relationship.
title Correlation between electronic polarization and shift current in cubic and hexagonal semiconductors LiZn$X$ ($X$ = P, As, Sb)
topic Materials Science
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2302.04861