AlSb is a more suitable material as buffer layers for the heteroepitaxial growth of InSb films on a Si(0 0 1) substrate than Ge. It reduces the large lattice mismatch of about 19.3% between Si and InSb to about 5.6%. The resistance of AlSb with stoichiometric composition is large enough for the measurement of electrical properties. InSb films grown on the AlSb/Si(0 0 1) substrates by the co-evaporation of elemental indium (In) and antimony (Sb) sources were characterized by Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), as a function of growth temperature. The thickness of grown InSb films was about 0.8-1.0 mum. The surface morphology and the crystal quality of the grown films strongly depend on growth temperature. It is found that the optimized growth temperature is about 300 degreesC to obtain the InSb films with smooth surface and good crystal quality. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.