Thickness-Dependent Physical Properties of Coevaporated Cu_<b>4</b>SnS_<b>4</b> Films

Abstract

Cu 4 SnS 4 films of different thicknesses were prepared by thermal coevaporation technique on glass substrates at a constant substrate temperature of 400°C. The layer thickness was varied in the range 0.25–1 μ m. The composition analysis revealed that all the evaporated films were nearly stoichiometric. The XRD patterns indicated the presence of a strong (311) peak as the preferred orientation, following the orthorhombic crystal structure corresponding to Cu 4 SnS 4 films. Raman analysis showed a sharp peak at 317 cm −1 , also related to Cu 4 SnS 4 phase. The optical transmittance spectra suggested that the energy band gap decreased from 1.47 eV to 1.21 eV with increase of film thickness. The hot-probe test revealed that the layers had p-type electrical conductivity. A decrease of electrical resistivity was observed with the rise of film thickness.