An electrochemical route to GaSb thin films.

An electrochemical method for the preparation of GaSb polycrystalline thin films is presented involving sequential deposition of Sb and Ga films (from an acid SbC13 solution and an alkaline GaC13 solution respectively) and a mild thermal annealing. The annealed deposits were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX) and secondary ion mass spectrometry. An alternative approach based on the simultaneous deposition of Sb and Ga was unsuccessful.