Laser induced structural phase transitions in Cu ₃ SbS ₄ thin films

Abstract We investigate the laser-induced structural phase transition of Cu ₃ SbS ₄ to CuSbS ₂ . The Cu ₃ SbS ₄ thin films were synthesized by a two-stage process of sputtering and subsequent sulfurization. The as-grown films were characterized by x-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy to investigate the phase purity of the material. The Cu ₃ SbS ₄ thin films were irradiated with 532 nm CW laser light at different power densities and in situ Raman spectroscopy was used to investigate the phase transitions. Experimental results show an evidence of local CuSbS ₂ phase formation from Cu ₃ SbS ₄ phase in the laser annealed areas above a critical power density. Heat transfer equations solved using COMSOL Multiphysics were used to estimate the surface temperature during the laser irradiation process.