Epitaxial and large area Sb 2 Te 3 thin films on silicon by MOCVD.

Antimony telluride (Sb 2 Te 3 ) thin films were prepared by a room temperature Metal-Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD) process using antimony chloride (SbCl 3 ) and bis(trimethylsilyl)telluride (Te(SiMe 3 ) 2 ) as precursors. Pre-growth and post-growth treatments were found to be pivotal in favoring out-of-plane and in-plane alignment of the crystallites composing the films. A comprehensive suite of characterization techniques were used to evaluate their composition, surface roughness, as well as to assess their morphology, crystallinity, and structural features, revealing that a quick post-growth annealing triggers the formation of epitaxial-quality Sb 2 Te 3 films on Si(111).