Characterization of Primary Carrier Transport Properties of the Light-Harvesting Chalcopyrite Semiconductors CuIn(S1–xSex)2

Abstract

We report the carrier transport properties of CuIn(S1–xSex)2 (0 ≤ x ≤ 1), a promising chalcopyrite semiconductor series for solar water splitting. A low concentration Mg dopant is used to decrease the carrier resistivity through facilitating bulk p-type transport at ambient temperature. Temperature-dependent resistivity measurements reveal a four-order magnitude decrease in bulk electrical resistivity (from 103 to 10–1 Ohm cm) for 1% Mg-doped CuIn(S1–xSex)2 as x increases from 0 to 1. Hall effect measurements at room temperature reveal p-type majority carrier concentrations that vary from 1015 to 1018 cm–3 and mobilities of approximately 1–10 cm2 V–1 s–1. These results provide insights into the fundamental carrier transport properties of CuIn(S1–xSex)2 and will be of value in optimizing these materials further for photoelectrochemistry applications.