Influence of substrate temperature on structural, optical, and electrical properties of flash evaporated CuIn0.81Al0.19Se2 thin films

Chalcopyrite copper indium aluminum diselenide (CuIn0.81Al0.19Se2) compound is prepared by direct reaction of high purity elemental copper, indium, aluminum and selenium in their stoichiometric proportion. Structural and compositional characterizations of pulverized material confirm the formation of a single phase, polycrystalline nature. CuInAlSe2 (CIAS) thin films are deposited on organically cleaned soda lime glass substrates using flash evaporation technique by varying the substrate temperatures in the range from 423 K to 573 K. Influence of substrate temperature observed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), optical and electrical measurement. CIAS Films grown at different substrate temperatures are polycrystalline in nature, exhibiting a chalcopyrite structure with lattice parameters a = ∼0.576 nm and c = ∼1.151 nm. The crystallinity in the films increases with increasing substrate temperature up to 473 K, and tend to degrade at higher substrate temperatures. Optical band gap is in the range of 1.20 eV–1.38 eV and the absorption coefficient is close to 105 cm−1. Electrical characterization reveals p-type conductivity and the structural, morphological and optical properties indicate potential use of CIAS thin films as an absorber layer for thin film solar cell applications.