MOVPE growth of InSb on GaAs substrates

There are a number of other well established problems in the growth of InSb by MOVPE including the low melting point, the poor thermal cracking of the commonly used antimony precursor (trimethylantimony) and the unreliability of solid indium sources (TMIn). The authors have investigated the use of a number of techniques including the application of low temperature buffer layers of InSb and GaSb, the use of a novel internally heated resistance heater with two independent zones to allow pre-cracking of the alkyls, and the use of alternative sources for both indium and antimony. Indium precursors used have been TMIn, EDMIn, and a mixture of TMIn/TEIn. As well as TMSb, a new antimony source, tertiarybutyldimethylantimony, has been assessed. The growth temperature was between 400 and 480°C, depending on the precursors used. A wide range of V/III ratios were investigated for the various combinations of precursors and combinations of pre-cracking and no pre-cracking. Epilayers were analyzed for thickness, surface quality and electrical quality at room temperature and 77 K