A theoretical study on the dynamic process of the lateral photovoltage in perovskite oxide heterostructures

Abstract

The lateral photovoltaic process on the La0.9Sr0.1MnO3/SrNb0.01Ti0.99O3 heterostructure is revealed by solving time-dependent drift-diffusion equations in a two dimensional scenario. We find that both the conventional lateral photovoltage (LPV) effect and the Dember effect contribute to the LPV. Under a low irradiation, the conventional LPV process plays a main role in the lateral photovoltaic process. With the laser pulse energy large enough, the Dember process becomes dominant. Due to the competition between Dember and conventional lateral photovoltage, a laterally modulated photovoltage can be obtained theoretically on the n-type side of the heterostructure.