The optimization is reported of the light absorber layer thickness of InSb p+-p--n+ photodiodes grown by MBE on GaAs(001) substrates.An Al0.17In0.83Sb barrier layer between p+ and p- layers was used to reduce the diffusion of photoexcited electrons, allowing rectifying characteristics and high photovoltage response at room temperaturePhotodiodes with a junction area of 90 × 90 μm2 and p--layer thicknesses varying from 0.5 to 3 μm were fabricated, demonstrating that photocurrent increased with p--layer thickness, which is in good agreement with theor. calculationsThe non-biased differential resistance did not increase as expected, possibly owing to an increase in film defect d. with increasing film thickness, which is considered to produce leakage paths through the light absorber layer.Despite the presence of defects on the grown films, photodiodes with a p--layer thickness of 3 μm showed a 6-fold improvement in the signal-to-noise ratio when compared with that of 0.5 μm.