Optical properties of vanadium silicide polycrystalline films

We present reflectivity spectra from 200 nm to 100 μm of vanadium silicide (${\mathrm{VSi}}_2$, ${\mathrm{V}}_5$ ${\mathrm{Si}}_3$, and ${\mathrm{V}}_3$Si) polycrystalline films and their dielectric functions obtained from Kramers-Kronig analysis. High-wavelength response is discussed in terms of the Drude model; low-wavelength spectra are interpreted on the basis of available information about the electronic structure. The optical properties of vanadium silicide are compared to those of pure V and other transition-metal silicides.