Growth and characterization of AgIn5S8 and CuIn5S8 thin films

Spinel AgIn5S8 and CuIn5S8 materials are perspective for application in optoelectronic semiconductor devices. For the first time, thin films of these compounds were grown and investigated. The films were deposited by a sequential process on Mo-coated soda lime glass. This process consists of sulphur vapour sulphurization of a metallic alloy precursor. We found that a good adhesion to the substrate (Mo-coated glass) could be achieved by introduction of a Ti layer between the substrate and the spinel layer. The spinel layers have been investigated by XRD and XPS methods. Moderate roughness of the films and a crystallite size of about 200–400 nm were observed in the AFM images. (© 2004 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)