The effect of surface roughness on the determination of optical constants of CuInSe2 and CuGaSe2 thin films

To investigate the effect of surface roughness on the calculation of optical constants, e.g., the complex refractive index n + ik or (n, k) of CuIn1-xGaxSe2 (CIGSe) thin films, we took CuInSe2 (CISe) and CuGaSe2 (CGSe) as examples and applied the "Modified Transfer-Matrix (MTM)" method to calculate optical constants with considering the effect of scattering due to surface roughness. Compared to the Transfer-Matrix (TM) method without considering surface roughness, it was revealed that the MTM method could improve the accuracy of calculation. The calculated refractive index values from the MTM method increase by 6.89% for CISe and 2.59% for CGSe in contrast to those from the TM method. In addition, bromine solution was confirmed via Scanning Electron Microscopy and Atomic Force Microscopy to be able to reduce the surface roughness. Calculated results from smoothened samples showed that the accuracy of calculated optical constants was further improved. Finally, optical constants calculated by the MTM method were compared to those from smoothened samples, validating that the MTM method could eliminate the influence of surface roughness on the calculation of optical constants more effectively for CGSe with low surface roughness than for CISe with high surface roughness. (C) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.