Structural characterization of iron silicides nanoparticles grown on Si substrate: Annealing rate dependence

We have synthesized iron silicides on a Si(111) substrate using an electron-beam evaporation technique in combination with thermal annealing. The microstructures, as a function of heating rate on annealing, were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Bright-field plan-view TEM observations revealed that a discontinuous thin film is formed in the sample annealed rapidly, while complete separated nanoparticles were obtained in the specimen annealed slowly. Selected-area and nano-beam electron diffraction patterns indicated that the former and latter specimens mainly consist of iron monosilicide (ɛ-FeSi) and iron disilicide (β-FeSi2) phases, respectively.