Topologically protected photovoltaics in Bi nanoribbons
Photovoltaic efficiency in solar cells is hindered bymany unwanted effects. Radiative channels (emission of photons)sometimes mediated by nonradiative ones (emission of phonons)are principally responsible for the decrease in exciton populationbefore charge separation can take place. One such mechani...
| Autores: | , |
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| Formato: | artículo |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2024 |
| País: | España |
| Recursos: | Universidad Autónoma de Madrid |
| Repositorio: | Biblos-e Archivo. Repositorio Institucional de la UAM |
| Idioma: | inglés |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:repositorio.uam.es:10486/713012 |
| Acesso em linha: | http://hdl.handle.net/10486/713012 https://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.4c01277 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palavra-chave: | Photovoltaics Topological insulator Exciton Optics Two-Dimensional Materials Física |
| Resumo: | Photovoltaic efficiency in solar cells is hindered bymany unwanted effects. Radiative channels (emission of photons)sometimes mediated by nonradiative ones (emission of phonons)are principally responsible for the decrease in exciton populationbefore charge separation can take place. One such mechanism iselectron−hole recombination at surfaces or defects where the in-gap edge states serve as the nonradiative channels. In topologicalinsulators (TIs), which are rarely explored from an optoelectronicsstandpoint, we show that their characteristic surface statesconstitute a nonradiative decay channel that can be exploited togenerate a protected photovoltaic current. Focusing on two-dimensional TIs, and specifically for illustration purposes on aBi(111) monolayer, we obtain the transition rates from the bulkexcitons to the edge states. By breaking the appropriate symmetries of the system, one can induce an edge charge accumulation andedge currents under illumination, demonstrating the potential of TI nanoribbons for photovoltaics |
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