Stibine SbH3 is gaseous (boiling temp. -17°C), however it is generally considered to be unsuitable precursor for CVD of antimony, as it decomposes spontaneously at RT and is stable only at -78°C. SbH3 rapidly reverts to elemental antimony and hydrogen at temperatures over -65°C.
Neverthelesss, SbH3 was reported to be tested as precursor for the growth of InSb layers by CVD.
Stibine (SbH3), combined with triethylindium (TEIn) as indium source, was repoted to be successfully applied as antimony
MOCVD precursor for the homo-epitaxial growth of single crystal InSb by MOCVD at 400° C. InSb layers with good morphology were obtained for the V/III ratio (= SbH3/TEIn)
over 8. n-type intrinsically doped eptaxial InSb layers were obtained, having 1.5 x 1016 cm-3 carrier density and 7.6 x 104 cm2/Vs mobility at 77 K. Single crystal InSb layer could be grown even at 300° C by inserting a buffer layer grown at 400° C.[i]
[i] O. Sugiura, H. Kameda, K. Shiina, M. Matsumura, J. Electronic Mater., 1988, Vol. 17, Iss.1, pp 11–14, « Low-temperature growth of InSb by vacuum MOCVD using TEln and SbH3 »
Perdeuterated stibine SbD3 (bp. -18°C) is more stable thermally, due to the lowering of the zero point energy: no signs of decomposition were observed upon >1 week storage in a glass vessel at 10 torr. Up to 30 wt% of SbD3 have been stored on solid absorbents for 2 weeks at 23°C without decomposition. [4]
SbD3 has been tested as precursor for the CVD growth of metallic Sb layers at temperatures as low as 200°C. [4]
Another study reported growth of carbon-free Sb films by thermal decomposition of SbD3 in
a horizontal, hot-wall CVD reactor at 300 °C. When SbD3 was delivered using H2 carrier gas, decomposition efficiencies reaching 50% were achieved, thus demonstrating that deuterated stibine SbD3 has advantages as CVD source due to its gaseous nature, compositional
simplicity (especially lack of Sb−C bonds) enhanced thermal stability compared to SbH3, and ability to deposit Sb films at very low temperatures. [[i]]
[i] M.A. Todd , G. Bandari , Th.H. Baum, Chem. Mater., 1999, 11 (3), pp 547–551, DOI: 10.1021/cm980121m « Synthesis and Stabilization of Stibine for Low-Temperature Chemical Vapor Deposition of Carbon-Free Antimony Films »