Apart from ferroelctric photovoltaic effect, the multiferroic materials is enhance the power conversion efficiency, like a magnetic or ferroelastic materials. why? and how?
The group has developed a new class of materials comprising elements such as bismuth, iron, chromium and oxygen. These "multiferroic" materials (materials that exhibit at least two ferroic orders) absorb solar radiation and possess unique electrical and magnetic properties. "Thanks to their semiconducting band gaps and their polarization induced electrical fields, these materials demonstrate an alternative pathway to achieve charge generation and separation, enabling the development of a new generation of photovoltaic devices," says Professor Federico Rosei, Director of INRS-EMT; UNESCO Chair in Materials and Technologies for Energy Conversion, Saving and Storage (MATECSS); and Canada Research Chair in Nanostructured Organic and Inorganic Materials.
Link https://media.nature.com/original/nature-assets/nphoton/journal/v9/n1/extref/nphoton.2014.255-s1.pdf