Structural investigations of thin films of copper–selenide electrodeposited at elevated temperatures

Copper selenides were electrodeposited potentiostatically from acidic aqueous solutions and were studied electrochemically and with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). By varying the deposition potential between 0.0 and 0.2 V (v SHE), the Cu2+/SeO32− concentration ratio between 0.5 and 10 and the solution temperature between 20 and 85°C the deposition conditions to produce pure Cu2Se layers were optimized. The influence of the temperature during the electrodeposition on the composition of CuxSe thin film layers was examined systematically by XRD and XPS and the results were compared with those obtained by deposition at ambient temperatures followed by post-deposition annealing.