The heteroepitaxial growth of InSb films via In-induced surface reconstructions such as 2 x 2-In and root 3 x root 3-In on a Si(1 1 1) substrate was carried out by using a two-step growth procedure in an ultra-high vacuum (UHV) chamber. The samples were characterized by high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and Hall measurements. The RHEED and XRD (phi scan) patterns of the samples showed the existence of InSb crystals rotated by 30 degrees with respect to Si substrate. From comparison between the growth of InSb films via 2 x 2-In and that via root 3 x root 3-In, we found that the origin of the 30 degrees-rotated lush is due to the existence of the In-Sb bi-layer formed by I monolayer (ML) Sb deposition onto the In-induced surface reconstructions. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.