Improvement of the structural properties and environmental stability of flexible InSb thin films by dopant-assisted crystallization

In this study, InSb and InSb1 - xBix (x = 0.01, 0.02, and 0.03) thin films were grown on quartz substrates and polyimide (PI) films by multi-cathode radio frequency magnetron sputtering. The effects of Bi doping on the structural properties, stacking-fault probabilities, and environmental resistance were investigated. The properties of the InSb/PI were inferior to those of the InSb/quartz because of the structural disorder in the InSb/PI which disrupted the (111)-oriented growth, and the preferred orientation was (220). However, the crystallinities of the Bi-doped InSb/PI were comparable with that of the InSb/quartz. The structural disorder was suppressed with the change in the preferred orientation from (220) to (111) as the Bi content x was increased, and the stacking-fault probability of InSb0.97Bi0.03/PI was similar to that of the InSb/quartz. Furthermore, the environmental stability of the InSb thin film was enhanced by Bi doping. These findings will support innovation in semiconductor fabrication and will help to decrease the environmental burden of these materials.

Automated summary

This study investigated the effects of Bi doping on InSb and InSb1 - xBix (x = 0.01, 0.02, and 0.03) thin films grown on quartz substrates and polyimide (PI) films. It was found that Bi doping improved the crystallinity and environmental stability of the films.