Structural and temperature-tuned bandgap characteristics of thermally evaporated <i>β</i>-In₂S₃ thin films

Abstract

In2S3 is one of the attractive compounds taking remarkable interest in optoelectronic device applications. The present study reports the structural and optical characteristics of thermally evaporated beta-In2S3 thin films. The crystalline structure of the thin films was found as cubic taking into account the observed diffraction peaks in the X-ray diffraction pattern. The atomic compositional ratio of constituent elements was obtained as consistent with chemical formula of In2S3. Three peaks around 275, 309 and 369 cm(-1) were observed in the Raman spectrum. Temperature-tuned bandgap energy characteristics of the In2S3 thin films were revealed from the investigation of transmittance spectra obtained at various temperatures between 10 and 300 K. The analyses of the transmittance spectra indicated that direct bandgap energy of the In2S3 thin films decreases from 2.40 eV (at 10 K) to 2.37 eV (at 300 K) with the increase of measurement temperature. The bandgap energy vs. temperature relation was investigated by means of Varshni optical model. The fitting of the experimental data under the light of theoretical expression revealed the absolute zero bandgap energy, the rate of change of bandgap energy and Debye temperature.