CuAl1-xInxSe2 solid solutions: Dielectric function and inter-band optical transitions

The dielectric function of bulk CuAl1-xInxSe2 with composition x varying from x=0.07 to x=0.6 were studied over the photon energy region 1.0-6.0 eV at room temperature by spectroscopic ellipsometry. Information on the inter-band optical transitions was obtained from the results of the standard critical point analysis of the obtained dielectric function. With increasing Indium content, all spectral features of the obtained dielectric functions were found to gradually shift towards lower energies. The details of this shift for each critical point retrieved from the obtained dielectric function were disclosed. A compositional dependence of the optical transitions in F point of the Brillouin zone was verified to be strong. Such dependence for N and T points turned out to be weak by comparison. The later fact was accounted for a small compositional shift of the conduction band states in N and T points as compared to Gamma point. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.