Characterization of (In1−xAlx)2S3 thin films grown by co-evaporation

In this paper, it is shown that (In1−xAlx)2S3 thin films can be grown through the co-evaporation of elemental indium, aluminum and sulfur. It is nevertheless observed that the introduction of aluminum within the indium sulfide thin films hinders the crystallites size and even yields almost amorphous films when x is 0.2. The investigations of the optical properties of the films reveal that contrary to what could be expected, the band gap increase is low; the highest values measured do not exceed 2.2 eV. However, as suggested by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements, such widening most probably affects the lower conduction band states.