Photovoltaic effects in low-dimensional semiconductors without inversion symmetry

Understanding the symmetry-optoelectronic property relations of materials and artificial structures is important in the design and development of high-performance electrical or optical devices and circuits. In this talk, first, I will present our efforts in the design and discovery of a photoactive ferroelectric chiral crystal. Then I will show the demonstration of an electric field-reconfigurable circular photo galvanic effect in a natural quantum well system that hosts unique Dresselhaus magnetic field. Finally, I will report an experimental demonstration of the flexo-photovoltaic effect in an archetypal two-dimensional material. The findings could potentially inspire the design of novel optoelectronic devices for information processing and sensing.