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Updated: May 25, 2026

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Published on: March 6, 2017
Dynamics of photogenerated surface charge on BiFeO3 films
Feng Yan1, Guannan Chen, Li Lu
1Department of Materials Science & Engineering, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA.
Abstract:
We report on the spatial and temporal evolution of photoinduced charge generation and carrier separation in heteroepitaxial BiFeO(3) thin films deposited on Nb:SrTiO(3) as measured in ambient at room temperature with Kelvin probe and piezoresponse force microscopy. Contributions from the self-poled and ferroelectric polarization charge are identified from the time evolution of the correlated surface potential and ferroelectric polarization in films as grown and following poling, and at different stages and intensities of optical illumination. Variations in the surface potential with bias voltage, switching history, and illumination intensity indicate how both bulk ferroelectric photovoltaic and the domain wall offset potential mechanisms contribute to the photogenerated charge.
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