Preparation of Cd(Zn)Te and CuInSe2 films and devices by a two-stage process

The two-stage process was used to prepare thin films of Cd(Zn)Te and CuInSe₂. The technique involves first depositing the elemental components of the compound onto a substrate in the form of thin stacked layers and then reacting these elemental components to obtain a thin film of the desired compound. While CdTe films grown on thin CdS layers have uniform stoichiometries and sharp interfaces with the underlying CdS layers, CdZnTe films deposited onto similar substrates give rise to diffused CdZnTeCdS interfaces because of the reactive nature of zinc. In CuInSe₂ processing, the nature of the reacted compound film strongly depends on the nature of the CuIn layers. CdS/CuInSe₂ device efficiencies are also influenced by the method of deposition for the CdS window layers.