Thermal process of iron silicides prepared by Magnetron sputtering

The effects of annealing temperature and duration on the formation of iron silicides prepared by magnetron sputtering (MS) are investigated. The Fe/Si structures were annealed at 1073 K–1223 K for 6–18 hours. The results show that 1143 K is a critical temperature to the formation of β- FeSi2 from Fe/Si structures deposited at room temperature. The single phase semiconducting β- FeSi2 can be obtained after annealing at 1173 K for 12–18 hours. The SEM images indicate that both annealing temperature and duration have obvious effects on microstructures of the film. When annealing time is more than 15 hours, the crystallinity of β- FeSi2 improves and the distribution of grains becomes homogeneous. Most of the grains of β- FeSi2 grow toward substrate and embed themselves into Si matrix.