Enhancements in specimen preparation of Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)2 thin films

► Agglomerate formation when ion-beam sputtering of Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)2 thin films for solar cells. ► These agglomerates are composed of (mainly) Cu. ► Reactive gases such as XeF2 during ion-beam sputtering reduce the agglomeration. ► Enhanced imaging and analysis results, including a 3D EBSD data cube of a CuInS2 thin film, were obtained.