Aggregation of Monocrystalline β-FeSi₂ by Annealing and by Si Overlayer Growth

Abstract

β-FeSi 2 films grown on Si(001) by the reactive deposition epitaxy (RDE) aggregated into islands after annealing at 850°C for one hour in ultrahigh vacuum (UHV). When a 100-nm-thick Si overlayer was grown epitaxially at 750°C by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), the β-FeSi 2 islands aggregated further into a spherical shape in Si crystals. Observation with cross-sectional transmission electron microscope (XTEM) revealed that the epitaxial relationship between the two materials and monocrystalline nature were preserved even after the annealing and the Si overgrowth.