Polycrystalline GaSb thin films grown by co-evaporation

We report optical and electrical properties of polycrystalline GaSb thin films which were successfully grown by co-evaporation on soda-lime glass substrates. The thin films have preferential orientation of the (111)direction. SEM results indicate that the average grain size of GaSb thin film is 500 nm with the substrate temperature of 560 ℃. The average reflectance of GaSb thin film is about 30% and the absorption coefficient is of the order of 104 cm-1. The optical bandgap of GaSb thin film is 0.726 eV. The hole concentration shows a clear increasing trend as the Ga-evaporation-temperature/Sb-evaporation-temperature (TGa/TSb) ratio increases. When the Ga crucible temperature is 810 ℃ and the antinomy crucible temperature is 415 ℃, the hole concentration of polycrystalline GaSb is 2 x 1017 cm-3 and the hole mobility is 130 cm2/(V-s). These results suggest that polycrystalline GaSb thin film is a good candidate for the use as a cheap material in TPV cells.