Effect of annealing time on copper selenide thin films prepared by chemical bath deposition

Copper selenide (Cu2Se) thin films have been deposited on glass slide substrates using the chemical bath deposition technique at room temperature. The films were annealed at 250 degrees C in an air atmosphere at different time intervals. The X-ray diffraction revealed that the Cu2Se films have a face-centered berzelianite cubic structure. The estimated average crystallite sizes were found to be 45 nm. X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy showed binding energy peaks corresponding to the Cu2Se. Scanning electron microscopy results showed that the morphology of the Cu2Se thin films consists of spherical particles. Energy dispersive spectroscopy confirmed the presence of Cu and Se. The Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy results showed that the energy bandgap of the films ranges between 1.52 and 1.25 eV. Photoluminescence results showed emissions from the Cu2Se defects at around 2.27, 2.40, 2.68, and 2.96 eV. It was found that the emission intensity increased up to 3 h and then decreased with an increase in annealing time.

Automated summary

Copper selenide (Cu2Se) thin films were successfully deposited on glass slides at room temperature using chemical bath deposition. The films were annealed at different time intervals at 250 degrees C in an air atmosphere. Various characterizations revealed that the films had a face-centered berzelianite cubic structure with an average crystallite size of 45 nm. The annealing process affected the emission intensity of Cu2Se defects.