Thermal stability of a partly Fe-intercalated GaSe film

A single crystal film of layered GaSe epitaxially grown onto a Si(1 1 1) su bstrate has been partly intercalated at room temperature under ultra-high v acuum. Then it was vacuum annealed sequentially at increasing temperatures up to 850 degreesC and studied at each step by low energy electron diffract ion, Auger electron spectroscopy and photoemission yield spectroscopy. It i s shown that the Fe-intercalated GaSe is perfectly stable until above 400 d egreesC. At higher temperatures, the intercalated Fe is destabilised and is fully trapped into the Si substrate, restoring an Fe free GaSe crystalline film which decomposes above 600 degreesC. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. A ll rights reserved.