Subgrain size inhomogeneities in the luminescence spectra of thin film chalcopyrites

摘要

We report near-field photoluminescence (PL) spectra of Cu(InGa)Se_2 thin films recorded with a lateral optical resolution of ≈200 nm and simultaneous detection of the sample topography. Our results reveal significant local variations in the PL spectra, specifically the PL yield, on length scales of 0.2-1.5 μm. Local variations in both the splitting of quasi-Fermi levels μ and the band gap energy are quantitatively extracted from the PL spectra by applying Planck's generalized law. We show pronounced fluctuations of μ and the band gap on length scales below the grain size. These fluctuations are only weakly correlated with the topographic film structure.