Molecular beam epitaxy of Ru2Si3 on silicon

Epitaxial growth of Ru2Si3 films on Si(100) and Si(111) by molecular beam e pitaxy (MBE) has been investigated. Films with thicknesses of approximate t o 100 nm were grown by the so-called template technique. In a first step, a thin Ru film(approximate to 1 nm) was deposited at low temperatures. In si tu annealing lead to the formation of a Ru,Si, film that served as a templa te for a thicker him grown subsequently by co-evaporation of Ru and Si. The Ru/Si ratio and the growth temperature during the co-evaporation turned ou t to be of particular importance. Best films showed He ion channeling minim um yield values of approximate to 5%. The films consist of epitaxially orie nted grains with dimensions up to 1 mu m after rapid thermal annealing. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.