Synthesis and material properties of Cu–III–VI2 chalcopyrite thin films

Abstract

Thin films of CuInSe2 have been fabricated by thermal annealing of evaporated elemental layers of Cu, In and Se onto Si (1 0 0) and Corning glass 7059 substrates at room temperature. Structural, optical and electrical properties of the layers were studied. X-ray diffraction revealed that the film was single phase with chalcopyrite structure and preferred orientation along the (1 1 2) plane. The temperature dependence of electrical conductivity exhibited two activation energies and the optical studies showed that the absorption coefficient of this film was above 3 × 104 cm−1 and the band gap was found to be 0.98 eV.