Formation of β-FeSi2 with electron beam evaporation.

In the formation of β-FeSi2 by means of FeSi2 alloy evaporation, there are problems that the vapor pressure of Fe and Si is low and that there is a vapor pressure difference of close to one order of magnitude between Fe and Si. In this paper, by using electron beam (EB) evaporation equipment, these problems are resolved and the success of β-FeSi2 formation is reported. First, the Fe and Si composition ratio of the EB evaporated film of FeSi2 alloy is analyzed by XPS. It is confirmed that the ratio is almost 1 to 2. Next, a sample with FeSi2 alloy EB evaporated on a Si substrate is annealed within a nitrogen environment by using an infrared heating furnace (at 700 to 900 °C) so that β-FeSi2 is synthesized. Also, it is found that the β-FeSi2 layer is made thicker and the optical absorption characteristic is improved by vapor-depositing an Fe layer between the FeSi2 alloy layer and a Si substrate. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electron Comm Jpn Pt 2, 87(1): 9–15, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience (<URL>www.interscience.wiley.com</URL>). DOI 10.1002/ecjb.10118 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]