RHEED-STM study of iron silicide structures on Si(1 1 1)

Structures of the initial stage of Fe silicide grown on Si(1 1 1) by reactive deposition epitaxy method are studied by reflection high-energy electron diffraction and scanning tunneling microscopy. At the beginning, triangular two-dimensional Fe silicide islands of a 2×2 structure appear. During iron deposition, they grow and part of them stick to each other, while their flatness and periodic structure remain unchanged. At multilayer coverage, a diffraction pattern due to three-dimensional islands appears. This is considered to be a new Fe silicide phase as a precursor of β-FeSi2.