CuInSe 2 thin films were deposited on soda lime glass substrates following a two-stage process which includes a chemical reaction between thin films of Cu and In x Se y , followed by thermal annealing in a Se environment. Initially, the Cu layer is deposited on the glass substrate by DC magnetron sputtering in the S-gun configuration, and subsequently the In x Se y layer is deposited by the closed spaced sublimation (CSS) method. The influence of the deposition method and of the main deposition parameters of the precursor layers (Cu and In x Se y ) on the phases present in the resulting compound were studied by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and optical gap (E g ) measurements. The conditions for growing CuInSe 2 thin films in the chalcopyrite phase were determined through an exhaustive parameter study. The study revealed that the thickness of the precursor layers and the selenization conditions affect the phase in which the CuInSe 2 compound grows.