The reaction kinetics for the formation of CuInSe2 thin films from a stacked bilayer precursor consisting of InSe and CuSe was studied by means of in situ high-temperature x-ray diffraction. In particular, the isothermal phase evolution of the glass/InSe/CuSe precursor was observed at different temperatures. The pathway produces a CuInSe2 diffusion barrier layer that also functions as a nucleat...

We have performed a first-principles study of the p- and n-type conductivity in CuIn(1-x)Ga(x)Se2 due to native point defects, based on the HSE06 hybrid functional. Band alignment shows that the band gap becomes larger with x due to the increasing conduction band minimum, rendering it hard to establish n-type conductivity in CuGaSe2. From the defect formation energies, we find that In/GaCu is a...

The direct synthesis of heteronanocrystals (HNCs) combining different ternary semiconductors is challenging and has not yet been successful. Here, we report a sequential topotactic cation exchange (CE) pathway that yields CuInSe2/CuInS2 dot core/rod shell nanorods with near-infrared luminescence. In our approach, the Cu(+) extraction rate is coupled to the In(3+) incorporation rate by the use o...

With tunable bandgap and demonstrated high efficiency, the chalcopyrite CuInSe2 and its alloys have shown great potential as absorbers for single and multi-junction solar cells. However, the current deposition techniques mostly rely on expensive vacuum-based processing or involve complicated precursor solution preparation. These higher-cost absorber preparation processes make it difficult to co...

We calculate the complex refractive index of inhomogeneous thin films using the transfer matrix method and reflection/transmission measurements. To this end we have developed a model for both the 3D distribution of inhomogeneities inside thin films and for light propagation through the inhomogeneities. The model involves splitting the light into contributions from the homogeneous section of the...

Quantum Dot Photonic Crystals In article number 2000757 by Qiqi Wang, Jiyang Fan, and co-workers, the photonic crystals made of red fluorescent CuInSe2 quantum dots are studied. The frequency-domain electromagnetic calculation reveals that such dot crystal has an optical band gap in extreme-ultraviolet region. frequency modes below above forbidden separately air dielectric modes.