NOVELTY - Formation (m1) of an absorber layer involves forming a precursor layer of inter-metallic flake particles, on a substrate; and processing the precursor layer in at least one step.    USE - For formation of an absorber layer which is useful in dense film for the manufacture of photovoltaic devices and solar cells (claimed).    ADVANTAGE - The method provides efficient and simplified creation of a dispersion, and coating. The obtained planar particles have found to be easier to disperse, form much denser coatings, and anneal into films at a lower temperature and/or time than their counterparts made from spherical nanoparticles that have substantially similar composition but different morphology. The planar shape of the nanoflakes provides a material property to avoid rapid and/or preferential settling of the particles, and nanoflakes having different material compositions when forming the precursor layer; and also to avoid grouping of nanoflakes in the ink, and thus enables a finely dispersed solution of nanoflakes.    DETAILED DESCRIPTION - INDEPENDENT CLAIMS are included for the following:    (1) a composition comprising several of particles comprising group IB and/or IIIA elements; and optionally at least one group VIA element, where at least one set of the particles are nanoflakes containing at least one group IB-IIIA inter-metallic alloy phase;    (2) a material (m2) comprising several of nanoflakes having a material composition containing at least one element from Groups IB, IIIA, and/or VIA, where the nanoflakes are created by milling precursor particles associated with a precursor composition that provides malleability to form a planar shape from a non-planar starting shape when milled, and overall amounts of elements from Groups IB, IIIA and/or VIA contained in the precursor particles combined are at a desired stoichiometric ratio of the elements;    (3) a method of using the material involving heating the nanoflakes in a non-oxygen chalcogen atmosphere to form a dense film; and    (4) a solar cell comprising a substrate; a back electrode (304) formed over the substrate; a p-type semiconductor thin film formed over the back electrode; an n-type semiconductor thin film (308) formed so as to constitute a pn-junction with the p-type semiconductor thin film; and a transparent electrode (310) formed over the n-type semiconductor thin film, where the p-type semiconductor thin film results by processing a dense film formed from several nanoflakes having a material composition containing at least one element from Groups IB, IIIA, and/or VIA, where the dense film has a void volume of less than or equal to 26%.    DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING(S) - The figure shows a cross-sectional view of a photovoltaic device e.g. solar cell.    photovoltaic device (300)    base substrate (302)    optional adhesion layer (303)    base or back electrode (304)    p-type absorber layer (306)    n-type semiconductor thin film (308)    transparent electrode. (310)