Alternating current photovoltaic effect

<p indent="0mm">The traditional photovoltaic effect represented by p-n junctions generates direct current (DC). This paper proposes that in addition to the DC photovoltaic effect, there exists another new photovoltaic effect that follows the Maxwell displacement current model, which is named the alternating current (AC) photovoltaic effect. The effect is explained as follows: when light is periodically irradiated at the interface or junction of two semiconductor materials, the quasi-Fermi levels of the materials adjacent to the interface or junction will shift and rearrange relative to each other. To balance the potential imbalance caused by the shifting quasi-Fermi levels, electrons will flow through the external electric circuit to generate an AC. The peak AC photocurrent at high switching frequencies can be much higher than that from ordinary photovoltaic mechanisms. The AC photovoltaic effect can be used in remote wireless power supplies and allows for highly sensitive wide-spectrum detection. This effect was first discovered in 2020 by Zhong Lin Wang's group.