Textural properties of InSb thin films

Abstract

The growth of flash-evaporated InSb films on non-oriented substrates between 160°C and 450°C is investigated. For the substrate temperatures T s<400°C the films are textured in the (1 1 0) plane, and their average grain size is of the order of 0.2 μm. At T s⩾400°C the preferred grains orientation becomes a mixture of the (1 1 0) and the (1 1 1), with a predominance of the (1 1 1) orientation at the highest temperatures. The average grain size increases to about 1 μm. The low-temperature texture in the (1 1 0) plane can be explained by the kinetic theory of the nucleation process and grain development, whereas the high-temperature orientation distribution can be explained by the thermodynamic requirements of minimization of the surface energy of the system. The latter consideration assumes that the lowest surface energy planes in InSb are (1 1 0), (1 1 1) A and (1 1 1) B and that the energies have comparable magnitudes.