Preparation of β-FeSi2 substrates by molten salt method

Large-sized β-FeSi2 substrates were successfully prepared for the first time from the silicide bulk crystal grown by the molten salt method. The structural, electrical and optical properties of the as-grown β-FeSi2 bulk crystals were also investigated. The crystal is single phase β-FeSi2, and polycrystalline with no preferable growth crystallographic orientations. It was also determined that the β-FeSi2 shows a p-type conduction, and the hole concentration and the Hall mobility at room temperature were about 1017 cm− 3 and 10 cm2/Vs, respectively. In addition, the PL emission around 0.8 eV was realized from the β-FeSi2 bulk crystal. This simple vacuum-free growth technique of β-FeSi2 and the large-sized substrate preparation procedure encourage us to develop future silicide-based electronics.