Epitaxial growth of FeSi2 in Fe thin films on Si with a thin interposing Ni layer

Abstract
Thin interposing Ni layers between Fe thin films and substrate Si have been shown to be very effective in inducing the growth and improving the quality of epitaxial FeSi2 on silicon. The formation of a transition layer with graded concentration is conceived to facilitate the epitaxial growth of FeSi2 on silicon. The thin interposing layer scheme may be extended to promote the epitaxial growth of a number of refractory silicides on silicon.