Deposition of CuInSe2 thin films using stable copper and indium-selenide precursors through two-stage MOCVD method

Highly polycrystalline copper indium diselenide (CuInSe2, CIS) thin films were deposited on glass or ITO glass substrates by two-stage metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) at relatively mild conditions, using Cuand In/Se-containing precursors. First, pure Cu thin film was prepared on glass or ITO glass substrates by using a single-source precursor, bis(ethylbutyrylacetate)copper(II) or bis(ethylisobutyrylacetato)copper(II). Second, on the resulting Cu films, tris(N,N-ethylbutyldiselenocarbamato)indium(III) was treated to produce CuInSe2 films by MOCVD method at 400°C. These precursors are very stable in ambient conditions. In our process, it was quite easy to obtain high quality CIS thin films with less impurities and uniform thickness. Also, it was found that it is easy to control the stoichiometric ratio of relevant elements on demands, leading to Cu or In rich CIS thin films. These CIS films were analyzed by XRD, SEM, EDX, and Near-IR spectroscopy. The optical band gap of the stoichiometric CIS films was about 1.06 eV, which is within an optimal range for harvesting solar radiation energy.