Li et al. Nanoscale Research Letters 2011, 6:601 http://www.nanoscalereslett.com/content/6/1/601 A schematic diagram of the device is shown in the inset in Figure 4a, The I-V characteristic is linear between two indium contacts on InSb NCs, indicating formation of ohmic contacts by indium. The I-V characteristics of the InSb NCs/SiO2/p-Si heterojunction in Figure 4a show a rectifying behavior and the turn-on voltage value is 1 V. The I-V characteristics are not linear and symmetric, meaning that the film does not make an ohmic contact to the Si substrate across the SiO2 layer. Figure 4b shows the transversal sqrt(I) versus V plot, suggesting a space charge limited current through the insulator layer. Conclusions In summary, InSb film was grown on SiO2/Si (111) sub- strate according to r.f. magnetron sputtering and solid- phase recrystallization by using rapid thermal annealing. The detailed deposition process of InSb NCs film on SiO2/Si (111) substrate was described. The average grain size of InSb NCs film is about 12.3 nm. A sharp rise in absorbance was found to take place near 4.7 μm, and the optical bandgap of the InSb NCs film is about 0.26 eV. Compared with the bulk InSb, a blue shift in the bandgap energy (0.084 eV) was observed obviously. Regarding to the I-V characteristics of the InSb NCs/ SiO2/p-Si heterojunction, it was found that the rectifying behavior and the turn-on voltage value is near 1 V. Abbreviations FTIR: Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy; FWHM: full width at half maximum; InSb: indium antimonide; I-V: current-voltage; NCs: nanocrystals; r. f.: radio frequency; RTA: rapid photothermal annealing system; SEM: scanning electron microscopy; SOI: silicon-on-insulator; TEM: transmission electron microscopy; XOI: semiconductor-on-insulator; XRD: X-ray diffraction. Acknowledgements This study was supported by the Special Funds for State 11th Five-Year Basic Research Project of China (No. 51318060207). 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Ohkubo S, Aoki K, Eto D: Temperature dependence of optical constants for InSb films including molten phases. Appl Phys Lett 2008, 92:011919. doi:10.1186/1556-276X-6-601 Cite this article as: Li et al.: Characterization of ultrathin InSb nanocrystals film deposited on SiO2/Si substrate. Nanoscale Research Letters 2011 6:601. Submit your manuscript to a journal and beneﬁt from: 7 Convenient online submission 7 Rigorous peer review 7 Immediate publication on acceptance 7 Open access: articles freely available online 7 High visibility within the ﬁeld 7 Retaining the copyright to your article Submit your next manuscript at 7 springeropen.com