The Influence of Conductive Nanodomain Walls on the Photovoltaic Effect of BiFeO3 Thin Films

Two Planar Pt electrodes with an inter-electrode distance of about 100 nm were fabricated at the surface of BiFeO3 thin films, which allow the manipulation of ferroelectric domain switching at nanoscale. This electrode configuration was pursued to study conductive domain-wall influence on the photovoltaic current in BiFeO3 thin films. Modulations of short-circuit photovoltaic current and hysteretic conductive switching behaviors were found in the above nanodevices, accompanied by the generation of the conductive domain walls connecting two gapped electrodes. Our technique provides a new method to configure ferroelectric domains, where the influence of the conductive domain walls on the photovoltaic effect is preeminent.