Effect of the growth conditions on the structural properties of CuInSe2 thin films obtained by the technique of close spaced vapor transport

Thin films of polycrystalline CuInSe2 were deposited on Pyrex substrates using a simple system of close spaced vapor transport (CSVT). The used CSVT system is an open horizontal reactor, this does not require vacuum, a gas flow is enough. During the growth phase, the CSVT system is continuously crossed by argon gas. A study on the influence of the source temperature and the deposition duration on the structural properties of the deposited films is reported. Analyses by X-ray diffraction have shown that these films are polycrystalline and have a chalcopyrite structure. The preferential orientation of the (112) plane was obtained for the films deposited at 550 ∘C. From the X-ray spectra we calculated the lattice parameters a and c, the ratio c/a was found to be close to 2. The characterization of the deposited films by an energy dispersion spectrometer (EDS) has shown that their chemical composition is quasistoichiometric with a ratio Cu/In varying from 0.96 to 1.10. Analysis with a scanning electron microscope (SEM) of the deposited films surface has shown that those slightly rich in indium present a more homogeneous morphology and smaller crystallites sizes than the films slightly rich in copper. The measurement of the photoconductivity of the prepared compound has allowed us to determine the value of its gap at room temperature. It was found to be close to 0.99 eV.