Photothermal deflection technique (PTD) is a non-destructive tool for measuring the temperature distribution in and around a sample, due to various non-radiative decay processes occurring within the material. This tool was used to measure the carrier transport properties of CuInS2 and CuInSe2 thin films. Films with thickness < 1 mu m were prepared with different Cu/In ratios to vary the electrical properties. The surface recombination velocity was least for Cu-rich films (5 x 10(5) cm/s for CuInS2, 1 x 10(3) cm/s for CuInSe2), while stoichiometric films exhibited high mobility (0.6 cm(2)/V s for CuInS2, 32 cm(2)/V s for CuInSe2) and high minority carrier lifetime (0.35 mu s for CuInS2, 12 mu s for CuInSe2). (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.