Evolution of the properties of CuAlSe2 thin films with the oxygen content

CuAlSe2 thin films have been synthesized by annealing, under argon flow, a multilayer structure of thin Cu, Al and Se layers sequentially deposited by evaporation under vacuum. It is shown that the oxygen content depends not only on the evaporation content but also on the argon flow. The properties of the thin films are modified by this oxygen percentage: when no more than 4–5 at % of oxygen is present in the films, their optical properties are very similar to that of single crystals. The inter-band transitions A, B, C typical of such chalcopyrite structure are clearly visible on the absorption spectra. The variation of the conductivity of these films in the high temperature domain is as that expected in CuAlSe2, while in the low temperature, grain boundaries are dominant.