Spatially Resolved Investigation of the Optical and Structural Properties of CuCl Thin Films on Si

CuCl thin films grown on (100) Si by thermal evaporation are studied by means of low temperature photoluminescence (PL) and reflectance spectroscopies. Spatially and wavelength resolved room temperature cathodoluminescence (CL) imaging of the surface of the CuCl samples in a scanning electron microscope (SEM) has also been performed. The reflectance spectra are modeled using a dielectric response function with various models involving dead layers and reflected waves in the thin film and the exciton‐polariton structure obtained is compared to other studies of CuCl. The modeling is shown to match the experimental data quite well when a dead layer is included at the air/CuCl and CuCl/Si interfaces. Some inconsistencies between the CL spectra and those measured by PL and reflectance have been observed. The effects of changing the accelerating voltage of the probe from 10 keV to the range 1–5 keV to allow depth analysis of the CL are reported, in order to pinpoint the spatial origin of the CL emission within the thin film.