Effect of substrate temperature on the electrical and optical properties of electron beam evaporated indium antimonide thin films

Thin films of non-stoichiometric indium antimonide (In0.66Sb0.34) have been deposited by electron beam evaporation technique on glass substrates at different substrate temperatures, (300–473 K). The films have polycrystalline nature with zinc blende structure. The decrease in electrical resistivity with increasing temperature shows semiconducting behavior. Hall measurements indicate that the films are of n-type. Optical transmission spectra of as deposited thin films have been measured at different substrate temperatures. All the electrical parameters i.e. electron mobility (µ), carrier concentration (n), resistivity (ρ), activation energy and band gap (E g) have been found to be temperature dependent. Suitable explanations are given in the paper.