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Annealing study of electrodeposited CuInSe2 and CuInS2 thin films

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Abstract

In this study CuInSe2 and CuInS2 thin films were prepared onto ITO glass substrate using the electrodeposition technique in aqueous solution. The electrodeposited films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray analysis. The annealing effects on electrodeposited precursors were investigated. The chalcopyrite structure of CuInSe2/CuInS2 showed an enhancement of crystallinity after subsequent selenization/sulfurization treatment in Se/S atmosphere, respectively. XRD and SEM studies revealed a dramatic improvement of the crystalline quality of CIS films after annealing treatments. Mott–Schottky measurements were used to assess the conductivity type of the films and their carrier concentration. The prepared samples underwent an etching process to remove the binary accumulated Cu2−x(Se,S) phases shown in FESEM pictures. This etching process has shown a noticeable decrease in both, the flat band potential, Vfb (V), and the number of acceptors, NA (cm−3) in selenized CuInSe2 and sulfurized CuInS2 samples.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Culture Affairs and Missions Sector, Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (Egypt) and Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (ENE2016-77798-C4-2-R) and Generalitat valenciana (Prometeus 2014/044).

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Correspondence to Bernabé Marí.

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Saber, S., Mollar, M., El Nahrawy, A. et al. Annealing study of electrodeposited CuInSe2 and CuInS2 thin films. Opt Quant Electron 50, 248 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11082-018-1521-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11082-018-1521-1

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