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Photovoltaic effect in multiphase Bi-Mn-O thin films

J. P. Chakrabartty, R. Nechache, C. Harnagea, and F. Rosei

Open Access Open Access

Abstract

We report an external solar power conversion efficiency of ~0.1% in Bi-Mn-O thin films grown onto (111) oriented Niobium doped SrTiO3 (STO) single crystal substrate by pulse laser deposition (PLD). The films contain BiMnO3 (BMO) and Mn3O4 (MO) phases, which both grow epitaxially. The growth conditions were tailored to obtain films with different Bi/Mn ratios. The films were subsequently illuminated under a sun simulator (AM 1.5 G). We find that the Bi/Mn ratio in the film affects the magnitude of the photo induced voltage and photocurrent and therefore the photovoltaic conversion efficiency. Specifically, a higher Bi/Mn ratio (towards unity) in the film increases the power conversion efficiency. This effect is described in terms of a more favorable energy band alignment of the film/substrate hetero-structure junction, which controls photo carrier separation.

© 2013 Optical Society of America

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Figures (6)
Fig. 1
Fig. 1 (a) XRD θ-2θ scans of the three types of films grown on (111) oriented STO: Nb substrate, showing the reflections of the (11-1)m orientation of BMO and that of the (101)t orientation of Mn3O4 phase. Circular and rectangular symbols in (a) indicate (00l) Kβ lines and tungsten contamination of the x-ray tube source. (b) Φ scan measurements show the three fold symmetry of BMO and Mn oxide phases in the films.

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Fig. 2
Fig. 2 J-V characteristic curves of Film A (a) & (b), and Film B (d) respectively, with positive and negative poling demonstrating the photovoltaic (PV) effect. The inset in (d) represents a zoom of the J-V curve around origin. The geometry of the tested structure is illustrated in (c).

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Fig. 3
Fig. 3 (a) Macroscopic ferroelectric hysteresis obtained from Film A and Film B (a) Optical absorption coefficient (α) curves as a function of photon energy, measured by Ellipsometry for multiphase Bi-Mn-O thin films (c) corresponding estimated indirect bandgaps (d) Deconvoluted XPS spectra of the Mn 2p3/2 peak.

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Fig. 4
Fig. 4 (a) Energy band diagram of isolated ITO, BMO and doped STO (b) Energy band diagram of an ideal BMO/Nb:STO interface at thermal equilibrium (c) Energy band diagram of ITO/BMO/Nb:STO interface with showing the polarization effect. All units are in eV.

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Fig. 5
Fig. 5 Ferroelectric hysteresis loops (a, b) and the corresponding current loops (c, d) at different cycling frequencies: while there is a significant leakage contribution, the fact that the switching current dominates at low frequency proves the existence of the ferroelectric component.

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Fig. 6
Fig. 6 Piezoresponse force microscopy measurement showing that the as-grown epitaxial BMO/STO(111) heterostructure has the polarization oriented downward (bright contrast). (a) surface topography, and (b) PFM image. The regions/grains that do not show a response (grey contrast) are either oriented in-plane, or represent the minor MO phase. (c) Out-of-plane PFM hysteresis loop obtained from one of the grains, showing the significant imprint of polarization.

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Tables (1)

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Table 1 Phases, Compositions and Optical Properties of Bi-Mn-O Films Grown by PLD on (111)-oriented Nb Doped SrTiO3 Substrates

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