Characterization of AgInSe2 Films Deposited by Hot-Wall Vacuum Evaporation Method

Hot-wall technique was used to prepare AgInSe2 films that work close to thermodynamic equilibrium and, therefore, are considered most suitable for growth at low temperatures. The samples were grown on the glass substrate kept at 135 degrees C. The technique can be described as semiclosed growth reactor consisting of a vertically mounted quartz cylinder heated by three separately temperature-controlled ovens and is closed on the top by the substrate. The first oven heats the source material and controls the growth rate, while the second oven heats the wall between source and substrate, and the substrate temperature is controlled by the third one. The structural and optical properties of AgInSe2 films grown by hot-wall technique were studied. X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern indicates that the prepared films are highly oriented in the (112) direction. The band gap was found to be 1.19 and 2.09 eV, which is due to the fundamental absorption edge and transition originating from crystal field splitting, respectively. The crystallite size of 47 nm and 94% transparency at 890 nm wavelength was observed for the films.