CHARACTERIZATION OF THE STOICHIOMETRY OF COEVAPORATED FESIX FILMS BY AES, EDX, RES, AND ELECTRON-MICROSCOPY

The composition of FeSix films on Si coevaporated from separate source s of Fe and Si was analyzed comparatively by AES, EDX; RES, and electr on microscopy. Cross-checks between EDX and RES reveal systematic erro rs originating from the spectra background subtraction in RES and from the thickness correction of the EDX signals. PCA (principal component analysis) assisted AES was successfully applied to the characterizati on of different Si bonding states in nonstoichiometric FeSi, films. Fo r the growth of beta-FeSi2 films by means of molecular beam epitaxy (M BE) the adjustment of the atomic beam intensities is reported in order to illustrate the capabilities of the various techniques.