Thin film preparation of the p-type transparent semiconductor Cu$_{3}$TaS$_{4}$

Thin films of a new wide band gap p-type semiconductor Cu$_{3}$TaS$_{4}$ (CTS) are prepared by PLD deposition of Cu and Ta metal multilayers and subsequent ex-situ rapid thermal processing in a sulfur environment. X-ray diffraction confirmed the presence of single phase CTS. 275 nm thick CTS films on fused SiO$_{2}$ substrates show reflection-corrected transmission $>$70{\%} over the range 400-700 nm, with an optical band gap near 2.8 eV. The electrical resistivity of undoped CTS thin films is $\sim $ 5 Ohm cm. These properties indicate that CTS thin films may find application in transparent electronics.