Flux-Boosted Sulfide Crystal Growth: Growth of CuInS2 Crystals by NaCl–InCl3 Evaporation

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• 作者：Masaaki Kurihara ; Fumitaka Hayashi ; Kosuke Shimizu ; Hajime Wagata ; Toshiyuki Hirano ; Yasuhiro Nakajima ; Kunio Yubuta ; Shuji Oishi ; Katsuya Teshima
• 刊名：Crystal Growth & Design
• 出版年：2016
• 出版时间：March 2, 2016
• 年：2016
• 卷：16
• 期：3
• 页码：1195-1199
• 全文大小：346K
• ISSN：1528-7505

文摘

Copper–indium–gallium–sulfide–selenide (CIGSSe) is used in photovoltaic cells and photocathodes, because of its tunable optoelectronic properties, but the fabrication of CIGSSe samples usually requires a multistage process under vacuum. Herein we used a flux growth technique for the sulfide system and achieved efficient flux growth of idiomorphic copper–indium–sulfide CuInS₂ crystals of size ∼5 μm from a NaCl–InCl₃ flux under mild conditions at ambient pressures. We first examined the flux growth conditions such as holding temperature, solute concentration, and holding time for growing highly crystalline CuInS₂ crystals. A moderate holding temperature (∼550 °C) and high solute concentration (∼70 mol %) yielded idiomorphic pure CuInS₂ crystals. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy showed clear electron diffraction spots, indicating that the resultant CuInS₂ crystals had a highly crystalline, intrinsic tetragonal crystal structure. Thermogravimetry-differential thermal analysis showed that the CuInS₂ crystals grew efficiently during flux evaporation at 550 °C, at which the flux evaporation degree reached ∼81%. The CuInS₂ crystal growth mode is discussed based on the characterization results.