CuInS2 thin film growth monitoring by in situ electric conductivity measurements

The growth of CuInS2 thin films by coevaporation has been monitored by in situ electrical conductivity measurements. Films with different cation ratio In/(In+Cu) were investigated. During the controlled cool-down period we obtain conductivity versus temperature data which are completed ex situ in the low-temperature region. The formation of the semimetallic CuS phase in Cu-rich films is found during the cool-down period at a substrate temperature of about 450 K. For In-rich films the dominance of charged grain boundary states is discussed. (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics.