Quantum size effect in antimony thin films and its application

Quantum size effect in antimony thin films has been investigated. The Sb(1 1 1) thin films were grown on GaAs (0 0 1) substrates by molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE) at growth temperatures between 25 and 150 °C and with Sb film thicknesses between 5 and 200 nm. The film structures were analyzed by both reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The energy gap versus thickness for Sb films was tested. A semimetal-to-semiconductor transition in Sb films grown on GaAs substrates has been demonstrated. Narrow energy gap materials with tailorable gaps are of great interest as novel infrared detector materials. A design for Sb-GaAs quantum well infrared detector is presented.