Structural and Optical Properties of CuInS₂ Thin Films Prepared by Magnetron Sputtering and Sulfurization Heat Treatment

Abstract

CuInS2thin films were prepared by sulfurization of Cu-In precursor films through magnetron sputtering and the resulting films characterized using X-ray diffraction, Raman spectrometry, and UV-Vis spectrophotometry. The results demonstrate that a sputtering power of 80–120 W is more suitable for sputtered Cu-In precursor films and can be used to obtain CuInS2films with good crystallinity through vulcanization heat treatment. The sputtering gas pressure and sulfurization temperature were shown to impact on the film quality due to improper processes during the CuInS2phase. Some of the CuIn11S17and CuS2impurities were observed in the composition of the prepared CuInS2thin films. Optimization of process parameters obtained from the experimental data was determined as a sputtering power of 80~120 W, a sputtering gas pressure of 0.6–0.8 Pa, a heat treatment temperature of 450~470°C, and a holding time of 2~3 hours. The optical band gap obtained for CuInS2thin films is between 1.48 and 1.5 eV.

Numerical Modeling to Improve the Efficiency of Cadmium Sulfide/Copper Indium Sulfide (CdS/CuInS2) Thin Film-based Solar Cells

“…The simulation result shows that as the CuInS2 layer thickness rises, the open-circuit voltage (Voc) increases, similar to the simulation of other chalcopyrite I-III-VI2-based solar cells [31]. Films of 1 to 2 µm thickness of the CuInS2 layer can absorb almost 90 % of light radiation [32].…”

Experimental and Theoretical Study of Stable and Metastable Phases in Sputtered CuInS2

“…The results are compared to experimental work in which a twostep CIS fabrication process is adopted that relies on 1) compound sputtering of a Cu-In-S precursor and 2) subsequent annealing in a sulfur-containing atmosphere. A similar approach to CIS preparation has been explored in the past (see for example [5], [45]), while an alternative one-step sputtering route is likewise commonly employed (e.g. [46], [47]).…”

The Influence of Concentration on the Formation of Chemical Bath Deposited Copper Tin Sulphide Thin Films: SEM and EDX Studies

“…Magnetron sputtering UV-visible spectroscopy: The band gap was 1.48 to 1.5 eV [35] SEM: Spherical grains with nanosized (2-5 µm) Raman: Confirmed that the crystals regrow during the sulfurization process. According to the SEM image, irregular-shaped [spherical and cuboidal geometry] grains covered the substrate surface in Sample 2.…”