Lateral Photovoltaic Effect in Semiconductor Structures

The lateral photovoltaic effect arises when non-uniform illumination of a semiconductor or junction produces a photovoltage that varies laterally across the surface. This phenomenon underpins position-sensitive detectors, converting the spatial displacement of a light spot into an electrical signal. Key factors governing performance include built-in electric fields at metal–semiconductor or semiconductor–semiconductor interfaces, carrier diffusion and drift dynamics, barrier heights and interface quality. Advances in materials engineering—ranging from two-dimensional films to doped heterostructures—have driven sensitivity gains, extending applications from optical tracking and motion sensing to ultraviolet detection and harsh-environment monitoring. Enhanced response speed and self-powered operation further broaden the technological impact of lateral photovoltaic devices in robotics, aerospace, biomedical instrumentation and precision manufacturing.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have demonstrated that embedding ultrathin metal nanostructures between semiconductor layers can dramatically amplify the lateral photovoltage. In one seminal work, a ZnO/Ag/Si nanostructure leveraged localized surface plasmon resonances in a semicontinuous Ag film to boost position sensitivity to over 55 mV mm⁻¹—seven times greater than for a bare ZnO/Si control. Plasmon-induced intraband and interband excitations at the interface harvest additional photocarriers, unveiling a new pathway to tailor lateral photovoltaic performance via nanoscale field enhancement.

Lateral Photovoltaic Effect in Semiconductor Structures publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in lateral photovoltaic effect in semiconductor structures across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Lateral photovoltage: A voltage generated along the surface of a semiconductor under spatially non-uniform illumination, used to infer position of a light spot.

Position-sensitive detector (PSD): An optoelectronic device that converts variations in lateral photovoltage into precise spatial information about an incident beam or spot.

Schottky junction: A rectifying contact formed between a metal and a semiconductor that creates a built-in electric field to separate photogenerated carriers.

Localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR): The collective oscillation of electrons in metallic nanostructures, which concentrates and enhances electromagnetic fields to boost carrier excitation.

Two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG): A high-mobility sheet of electrons confined at a semiconductor heterointerface, often exploited for sensitive photovoltage generation.

References

1. Localized surface plasmon resonances dominated giant lateral photovoltaic effect observed in ZnO/Ag/Si nanostructure. Scientific Reports (2016).
2. Near-ultraviolet lateral photovoltaic effect in Fe3O4/3C-SiC Schottky junctions.. Optics Express (2016).
3. Lateral photovoltaic effect observed in doping-modulated GaAs/Al0.3Ga0.7As.. Optics Express (2017).
4. Ultrahigh, Ultrafast, and Self‐Powered Visible‐Near‐Infrared Optical Position‐Sensitive Detector Based on a CVD‐Prepared Vertically Standing Few‐Layer MoS2/Si Heterojunction. Advanced Science (2017).