Photoelectronic and electrical properties of CuIn5S8 single crystals

To identify the impurity levels in CuIn₅S₈ single crystals, the dark electrical conductivity and photoconductivity measurements were carried out in the temperature range of 50–460 K. The data reflect the intrinsic and extrinsic nature of the crystals above and below 300 K, respectively. Energy band gaps of 1.35 and 1.31 eV at 0 K and 300 K, were defined from the dark conductivity measurements and the photocurrent spectra, respectively. The dark and photoconductivity data in the extrinsic temperature region reflect the existence of two independent donor energy levels located at 130 and 16 meV. The photocurrent‐illumination intensity dependence (F) follows the law I_phαF^γ, with γ being 1.0, 0.5 and 1.0 at low, moderate and high intensities indicating the domination of monomolecular, bimolecular and strong recombination at the surface, respectively. In the intrinsic region and in the temperature region where the shallow donor energy level 16 meV is dominant, the free electron life time, τ_n, is found to be constant with increasing F. In the temperature region 140 K < T < 210 K, the free electron life time increases with increasing illumination intensity showing the supralinear character. Below 140 K, τ_n decrease with decreasing illumination intensity. (© 2003 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)