High density near amorphous InSb nanowire arrays and its photo-electric performance

•InSb near amorphous nanowire arrays are successfully fabricated.•The 30 nm diameter nanowire array shows a well infrared photo-electric response, and the reasons are discussed.•The reason for the black color of the InSb semiconductor is discussed.

In this paper, we report the fabrication of high density near amorphous InSb nanowire arrays with using 30, 55 and 70 nm diameter anodic alumina oxide (AAO) template by electrodeposition method. The near amorphous structure was proved by combining the results of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). Different from the bulk material, these nanowires are black and could not be analyzed by the traditional method, and the reason was discussed. By testing of the photo-electric performance, the 30 nm diameter InSb nanowire showed the best performance, which could be used at about 260 K. The formation of the near amorphous structure was also discussed. Such high density nanoarrays may found potential application in the infrared detection field.