photovoltaic effect

American  

noun

Physics.

1. the phenomenon in which the incidence of light or other electromagnetic radiation upon the junction of two dissimilar materials, as a metal and a semiconductor, induces the generation of an electromotive force.

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photovoltaic effect British  

noun

1. the effect observed when electromagnetic radiation, esp visibile light from the sun, falls on a thin film of one solid deposited on the surface of a dissimilar solid producing a difference in potential between the two materials

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Etymology

Origin of photovoltaic effect

First recorded in 1955–60

Example Sentences

Mutual photoluminescence quenching and photovoltaic effect in large-area single-layer MoS2–polymer heterojunctions.

From Nature • Feb. 20, 2018