Thermally stimulated current and electrical resistivity in CuIn3Se5

From the analysis of the thermally stimulated current (TSC) in the temperature range from liquid nitrogen up to 325 K, and from the electrical resistivity measurements in the range from 60 to 450 K, six defect energy levels were estimated at 0.013, 0.10, 0.12, 0.17, 0.23 and 0.48 eV in CuIn3Se5. Taking into account the composition of the sample and the reported values in the literature, the observed activation energies were related to several intrinsic defects levels. In the proposed assignments, the activation energy at 0.013 eV was related with substitutional Cu atoms at the vacancy site, and the observed level at 0.17 eV was associated with an acceptor due to Se interstitial. The two defect levels obtained by TSC at 0.10 and 0.12 eV are in good agreement with those estimated for (In-square(+2) or In-I(+2)) and (In-square(+3) or In-I(+3)), respectively. The activation energies at 0.23 and 0.48 eV were associated with a single and double acceptor levels due to vacancy of indium (V-In(-) and V-In(2-)). (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.