The growth by the hybrid sputtering and evaporation method and microstructural studies of CuInSe₂ films

Polycrystalline CuInSe₂ was deposited by a hybrid sputtering and evaporation process at various temperatures and compositions. The resulting material was characterized by electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and other techniques. It was shown that the point defect density in CuInSe₂ thin films can be decreased and the compositional uniformity of the film increased by raising the growth temperature of the second stage of the bilayer deposition process used. Increasing the temperature results in more pronounced segregation of second phases to the surface. An explanation for the behaviour of Cu₂Se surface segregation and precipitate formation is proposed based on residual lattice misfit between the Cu₂Se and the CuInSe₂ grains.