In this paper, we describe the development of a bath comprising triethanolamine and sodium dodecyl sulfate for electrodeposition of CuInSe2 thin films, by which long-term bath stability was found to be improved and near-stoichiometric CuInSe2 films with smooth surface morphology were obtained. Scanning electron microscopy studies reveal a dramatic improvement of the crystalline quality of CuInSe2 films with the addition of sodium dodecyl sulfate. X-ray diffraction results and Raman spectra confirm that the improvement of the film growth is attributed to the synergistic effect of triethanolamine and sodium dodecyl sulfate. The addition of anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate can significantly improve the adherence between the CuInSe2 layer and the substrate. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.