Potential effect on the properties of CuInSe 2 thin films deposited using two-electrode system

Abstract

The aim of this work is to study the effect of the deposition potential on the properties of copper indium diselenide CuInSe 2 films. The CuInSe 2 thin films have been grown on well-cleaned indium tin oxide (ITO) coated glass substrate by electrochemical deposition technique using two-electrode system. The deposition potential is ranged between −4 and −8 V. The as deposited films were annealed under argon atmosphere at 300 °C during 30 min. The structural and morphological properties of the resulting films were characterized respectively by means of X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The optical band gap E g and the urbach energy E 00 were calculated from the transmission spectra data. The lattice constant and the structural parameters such as crystallite size ( G s), dislocation density ( δ), and strain ( ɛ) were calculated from the XRD pattern. We have found that after annealing, only the films deposited at −6 V, −7 V and −8 V present CuInSe 2 in its chalcopyrite structure and with preferred orientation along the [112] direction. Also, it has been found that the film deposited at −7 V has better structural and optical properties.