Effects of Deposition Time on Electrochemical Growth of InSb Thin Films

Indium antimonide (InSb) is a III-V narrow-bandgap semiconductor with broad applications in infrared detection, sensing, and energy conversion technologies. This study investigated crystalline properties of InSb thin films grown using a benchtop electrochemical growth methodology performed at room temperature. Relative to conventional InSb melt and vapor phase growth methods, the process implemented in this work has several advantages including low cost, a lack of extreme growth conditions, and facile scalability to large area film growth. Indium foils were immersed in an aqueous electrolyte with dissolved precursors, and electric potential was applied to remove the native oxide layer and drive reduction of Sb species. Deposition time was varied and resulting films were characterized via Raman spectroscopy and x-ray diffraction techniques.