Pressure-dependent real-time investigations on the rapid thermal sulfurization of Cu-In thin films

Abstract Rapid thermal processing (RTP) under high sulfur partial pressure of copper rich Cu–In alloy thin films is investigated using in situ energy dispersive X-ray diffraction (EDXRD). Cu–In precursors are sulfurized at S vapor pressures in the 1 mbar range. Diffraction of white synchrotron light and recording of EDXRD spectra every 10 s at the EDDI beamline of the BESSY facility is used to monitor in situ the solid phases during the sulfurization and the subsequent cool-down. Ternary CuInS 2 forms via the binary InS and CuS and the ternary CuIn 5 S 8 phases. The concentration of copper in the secondary Cu 2− x S phase, which segregates on the surface of the CuInS 2 , shows a strong dependence on the maximum sulfur pressure during the RTP-like process.