Effect of composition on the optical properties of the quaternary Cu<INF>x</INF>Ag<INF>1–x</INF>InTe<INF>2</INF> thin films

Thin films of Cu<INF>x</INF>Ag<INF>1–x</INF>InTe<INF>2</INF> solid solutions (x = 0.25, 0.50 and 0.75) were deposited by thermal evaporation of prereacted materials on glass substrates. X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies has revealed that the as-deposited and thermally annealed films are polycrystalline with single-phase of a tetragonal chalcopyrite structure as that of bulk material with (112) predominant reflecting plane. The films compositions were confirmed by using energy dispersive analysis of X-rays (EDAX). The refractive index, n, and the extinction coefficient, k, of the annealed films with different compositions were determined in the spectral range, 400–2500 nm. Three characteristic energy gaps have been determined from the analysis of optical absorption spectrum for each composition. The three energy gaps are attributed to the optical transitions from the valence sub-bands to the conduction band minimum. Besides, a fourth energy gap has also been obtained for each composition, which may be attributed to the transition from the copper 3d-level to the conduction band minimum. However, the band gaps showed linear variation with the value of x.