Manipulating Photogalvanic Effects in Two-Dimensional Multiferroic Breathing Kagome Materials

Multiferroic materials, known for their multiple tunable orders, present an exceptional opportunity to manipulate nonlinear optical responses that are sensitive to symmetry. In this study, we propose leveraging electric and magnetic fields to selectively control and switch specific types of photogalvanic effects in two-dimensional multiferroic breathing kagome materials. Taking monolayer Nb₃I₈ as an example, we demonstrate that the shift current, characterized by the real-space shift of electrons and holes, is predominantly unaffected by magnetic order. In contrast, injection current, featured by quantum metric dipole in momentum space, is closely related to valley polarization, which can be controlled by a magnetic field. Furthermore, both photocurrents can be reversed by an out-of-plane electric field via lattice breathing. Our findings reveal the potential of multiferroic breathing kagome structures for multifunctional optoelectronic applications and sensors.