Generation and modulation of multiple 2D bulk photovoltaic effects in space-time reversal asymmetric 2H-FeCl2

Abstract: The two-dimensional (2D) bulk photovoltaic effect (BPVE) is a cornerstone for future highly efficient 2D solar cells and optoelectronics. The ferromagnetic semiconductor 2H-FeCl2 is shown to realize a new type of BPVE in which spatial inversion (P), time reversal (T), and space-time reversal (PT) symmetries are broken (PT-broken). Using density functional theory and perturbation theory, we show that 2H-FeCl2 exhibits giant photocurrents, photo-spin-currents, and photo-orbital-currents under illumination by linearly polarized light. The injection-like and shift-like photocurrents coexist and propagate in different directions. The material also demonstrates substantial photoconductance, photo-spin-conductance, and photo-orbital-conductance, with magnitudes up to 4650 (nm{\cdot}{\mu}A/V2), 4620 (nm{\cdot}{\mu}A/V2 {\hbar}/2e), and 6450 (nm{\cdot}{\mu}A/V2 {\hbar}/e), respectively. Furthermore, the injection-currents, shift-spin-currents, and shift-orbital-currents can be readily switched via rotating the magnetizations of 2H-FeCl2. These results demonstrate the superior performance and intriguing control of a new type of BPVE in 2H-FeCl2.