Amorphous copper sulfide films deposited by pulsed laser deposition using pellets as target

Amorphous Transparent Cu(S,I) Thin Films with Very High Hole Conductivity

“…The corresponding optical bandgaps are estimated using Tauc plots assuming a direct semiconductor model (see Figure S3). Figure (d) shows that the optical bandgap of the pure a-CuS thin film was 2.6 eV, consistent with previously reported values . In the amorphous region, the experimental bandgap exhibits a linear change with doing.…”

“…Besides the crystalline phases, amorphous Cu 2– x S (a-CuS) thin films were prepared by various methods, e.g., chemical bath deposition, , evaporation, and pulsed laser deposition . The electrical transport properties of a-CuS have rarely been studied systematically .…”

“…However, Cu 2 Se and Cu 2 Te are not ideal candidates to construct TCs because of their narrow bandgaps. , For Cu 2– x S, the band structure is more complicated due to the structural variety. Interestingly, although crystalline Cu 2– x S is a natural p-type semiconductor with a narrow bandgap of ∼1.2 eV, a-CuS thin films are semitransparent to light in the visible spectral range (VIS) with wavelength >500 nm with optical gap energies <2.5 eV . Such optical gaps could be further modulated for full VIS transparency through band gap engineering.…”

“…12 Besides the crystalline phases, amorphous Cu 2−x S (a-CuS) thin films were prepared by various methods, e.g., chemical bath deposition, 13,14 evaporation, 15 and pulsed laser deposition. 16 The electrical transport properties of a-CuS have rarely been studied systematically. 14 Theoretically, to realize p-type amorphous conductors with a decent hole mobility, we need to design a VBM, the hole pathway, by using disorder-insensitive orbitals of the constituting anions.…”

“…Interestingly, although crystalline Cu 2−x S is a natural p-type semiconductor with a narrow bandgap of ∼1.2 eV, 10 a-CuS thin films are semitransparent to light in the visible spectral range (VIS) with wavelength >500 nm with optical gap energies <2.5 eV. 16 Such optical gaps could be further modulated for full VIS transparency through band gap engineering. Because of the wider bandgap of CuI (3.05 eV), iodine becomes a promising anion for widening the bandgap of an a-CuS thin film.…”