Cubic-InN was grown at a low temperature of 350 degrees C using our home-made low-pressure metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). The technology of indium pre-deposition was applied, that is, a layer of indium was deposited on the sapphire surface with a precursor of trimethylindium (TMI) before the growth of InN. Both X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron (XPS) spectra show that the pre-deposited indium is able to promote the growth of InN, and meanwhile, suppress the indium aggregation in the grown layer. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) images indicate that the nucleation of InN becomes easier with the pre-deposition of indium. It is proposed that the pre-deposited indium can seed the growth of InN, just like the vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) fabrication of InN whiskers with indium nanoparticles. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.