Properties of spray deposited nanocrystalline indium selenide thin films

Abstract

Metal chalcogenide and chalcopyrite thin films have attracted great deal of attention due to their exciting photoelectrical characteristics. Indium selenide thin films have been deposited by computerized chemical spray pyrolysis technique on amorphous glass substrates. The as deposited films are characterized for wide range of properties including structural, surface morphological, optical and electrical, Hall effect and thermo-electrical measurements. X-ray diffraction study revealed that indium selenide thin films are polycrystalline with hexagonal crystal structure irrespective of substrate temperature. Surface morphology and film composition have been analyzed using atomic force microscopy and energy dispersive analysis by X-rays. Nearly stoichiometric deposition of the film at 350°C was confirmed from EDAX analysis. Optical absorption measurements show that the deposited films possess a direct band gap value of 1.78 eV. The Hall effect study reveals that the films exhibit n-type conductivity.