Nanoscale investigations of the electronic surface properties of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 thin films by scanning tunneling spectroscopy

In this work we investigate the electronic surface properties of polycrystalline Cu(In,Ga)Se2 thin films by locally resolved scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS). From current imaging tunneling spectroscopy (CITS) maps of an area of ( 2 × 2 ) μ m 2 we observe distinct granular inhomogeneities, where current–voltage (I(U)) spectra differ from grain to grain and vary between metallic and semiconducting characteristics. Due to the high density of defect states at the Cu(In,Ga)Se2 surface, the metallic I(U) characteristics is not surprising. In the case of the semiconducting I(U) characteristics, we suggest a preferential oxidation of particular grains, which passivates defect levels at the surface. This is supported by the presence of gallium and indium oxides detected by global X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Furthermore, we recorded I(U) spectra from different grains under supra band gap laser illumination, which always show semiconducting characteristics. This behavior can be explained by a saturated occupation of defect states by photoexcited charge carriers. By evaluating differential conductance (dI/dU) spectra under illumination from various grains, we estimate the average surface band gap to ( 1.4 ± 0.2 ) eV and compare the valence band onset with results from macroscopic ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy. The high lateral resolution of our CITS data allows also to study electronic properties at grain boundaries, which are discussed with regard to a recent STS study on a non-oxidized sample.