Band Gap of Pb(Fe0.5Nb0.5)O3 Thin Films Prepared by Pulsed Laser Deposition

Ferroelectric materials have gained high interest for photovoltaic applications due to their open-circuit voltage not being limited to the band gap of the material. In the past, different lead-based ferroelectric perovskite thin films such as Pb(Zr,Ti)O-3 (Pb,La)(Zr,Ti)O-3 and PbTiO3 were investigated with respect to their photovoltaic efficiency. Nevertheless, due to their high band gaps they only absorb photons in the UV spectral range. The well-known ferroelectric PbFe0.5Nb0.5O3 (PFN), which is in a structure similar to the other three, has not been considered as a possible candidate until now. We found that the band gap of PFN is around 2.75 eV and that the conductivity can be increased from 23 S/mu m to 35 S/mu m during illumination. The relatively low band gap value makes PFN a promising candidate as an absorber material.