Thickness-dependence crystallinity and optical properties of β-In2S3 thin films synthesized by sulfurization in CVD

Thickness-dependence crystallinity and optical properties of β-In2S3 thin films synthesized by sulfurization in CVD | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Thickness-dependence crystallinity and optical properties of β-In2S3 thin films synthesized by sulfurization in CVD Elbadawy A. Kamoun, Ahmed I. Ali, Yasair Al-Faiyz, Amany S. El Khouly, and 6 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7740062/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract In 2 S 3 thin films with controlled thickness were produced by sulfurizing thermally evaporated indium on SiO₂/Si substrates via chemical vapor deposition. X-ray diffraction confirms single-phase β-In 2 S 3 and shows a monotonic increase in crystallinity with thickness. Field-emission scanning electron microscopy reveals grain coarsening and smoother, more uniform surfaces in thicker layers. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy indicates near-stoichiometric In/S ratios with only trace oxygen and carbon. Annealing at 550°C and 100 Torr yields the best structural quality. Raman spectra display progressively stronger characteristic modes with thickness, consistent with enhanced lattice order. Photoluminescence exhibits sharp, intense excitonic emission in thicker films, indicating improved optical quality. The experimental results confirming, thickness jointly tune microstructure and defect density, enabling In 2 S 3 films well suited to optoelectronic applications-including solar cells, photodetectors, and LEDs-where high crystallinity and well-defined emission underpin device performance and reliability. ß- In2S3 thin films Thickness-dependent crystallinity Sulfurization Grain growth Excitonic emission Optoelectronic applications Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7740062","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":530964152,"identity":"843a4bc3-19fc-4965-b303-391158e6746e","order_by":0,"name":"Elbadawy A. Kamoun","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"King Faisal University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Elbadawy","middleName":"A.","lastName":"Kamoun","suffix":""},{"id":530964153,"identity":"81478971-aef5-4057-90bd-724414ea40e7","order_by":1,"name":"Ahmed I. 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CVD","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"ß- In2S3 thin films, Thickness-dependent crystallinity, Sulfurization, Grain growth, Excitonic emission, Optoelectronic applications","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7740062/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7740062/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eIn\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eS\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e thin films with controlled thickness were produced by sulfurizing thermally evaporated indium on SiO₂/Si substrates via chemical vapor deposition. X-ray diffraction confirms single-phase β-In\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eS\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e and shows a monotonic increase in crystallinity with thickness. Field-emission scanning electron microscopy reveals grain coarsening and smoother, more uniform surfaces in thicker layers. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy indicates near-stoichiometric In/S ratios with only trace oxygen and carbon. Annealing at 550\u0026deg;C and 100 Torr yields the best structural quality. Raman spectra display progressively stronger characteristic modes with thickness, consistent with enhanced lattice order. Photoluminescence exhibits sharp, intense excitonic emission in thicker films, indicating improved optical quality. The experimental results confirming, thickness jointly tune microstructure and defect density, enabling In\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eS\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e films well suited to optoelectronic applications-including solar cells, photodetectors, and LEDs-where high crystallinity and well-defined emission underpin device performance and reliability.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Thickness-dependence crystallinity and optical properties of β-In2S3 thin films synthesized by sulfurization in CVD","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-10-22 14:45:23","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7740062/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"666c71e0-887f-4fea-af15-943f6990a4a6","owner":[],"postedDate":"October 22nd, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-02-21T10:10:34+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-10-22 14:45:23","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7740062","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7740062","identity":"rs-7740062","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}