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Atomic Layer Deposition of Conducting CuS Thin Films from Elemental Sulfur
Author(s) -
Tripathi Tripurari S.,
Lahtinen Jouko,
Karppinen Maarit
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
advanced materials interfaces
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.671
H-Index - 65
ISSN - 2196-7350
DOI - 10.1002/admi.201701366
Subject(s) - materials science , sulfur , atomic layer deposition , deposition (geology) , thin film , copper sulfide , copper , layer (electronics) , band gap , sulfide , analytical chemistry (journal) , atmospheric temperature range , chemical engineering , nanotechnology , optoelectronics , metallurgy , chemistry , organic chemistry , paleontology , physics , sediment , meteorology , engineering , biology
A facile, yet precisely controlled and efficient atomic layer deposition (ALD) process is reported for high‐quality copper(II) sulfide thin films based on elemental solid sulfur as the source for sulfur; Cu(acac) 2 (acac: acetylacetonate) is used as the copper precursor. In the deposition temperature range as low as 140–160 °C, the process proceeds in an essentially ideal ALD manner and yields single‐phase CuS thin films with appreciably high growth rate of ≈4 Å per cycle. When the deposition temperature is increased above 160 °C the growth rate considerably increases and flake‐like nanostructures evolve. All the as‐deposited films are crystalline, highly conducting, and specularly reflecting. Seebeck coefficient measurements confirm the p‐type conducting nature of the films. The direct optical bandgap as determined from UV–vis spectroscopic measurements varies in the range of 2.40–2.54 eV, depending on the deposition temperature.