Studies of the growth mechanism of polycrystalline CuInSe2 thin films prepared by a sequential process

Abstract

CuInSe2 (CIS) is a semiconductor compatible with almost all criteria to be considered for thin film solar cells. However, due to the fact that the material is quite complex, the success of process development depends on the knowledge about the mechanism of film growth. In this contribution we present a new process to deposit CuInSe2 thin films on molybdenum-coated soda lime glass. The specific growth path involved is studied by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), secondary electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS). We show that a Cu-rich growth front is necessary for large crystallites and that the orientation depends on the selenization process.