Annealing and characterisation of CuInS2 thin films prepared on sapphire substrates by pulsed laser deposition. (July 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Shang, Xunzhong; Zhang, Lei; Fang, Jingang; Li, Mingkai; He, Yunbin
• Is Part Of: Materials research innovations. Volume 18:Number 4(2014)
• Page Start: 22
• Page End: 25
• Publication Date: 2014-07
• Subjects: Materials -- Research -- Periodicals; Matériaux -- Recherche -- Périodiques; 620.1105
• DOI: 10.1179/1432891714Z.000000000641
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1432-8917

Abstract

<abstract> <title> <x content-type="archive" xml:space="preserve">Abstract</x> </title> <p>Quasi-epitaxial CuInS₂ thin films were deposited on <italic>c</italic>-sapphire substrates at optimised temperature by the pulsed laser deposition method using a self-made ceramic target. Crystalline and stoichiometric CuInS₂ film with a band gap energy of 1·43 eV is obtained by a post-annealing/sulphurisation process at a temperature of 500°C, which shows a highly (112) preferential orientation with a smallest full width at half maximum value of 0·19°. The as-deposited films show the coexistence of CuInS₂ chalcopyrite and CuAu orderings measured by Raman spectroscopy, and a polymorphic transformation of metastable CuAu ordering into the equilibrium chalcopyrite structure takes place at the annealing temperature of 500°C with the presence of a surface segregated Cu_xS phase. The morphologies and compositions of the films before and after annealing are characterised by scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray analysis.</p> </abstract>