Formation of β-FeSi2 by excimer laser irradiation of 57Fe/Si bilayers

Pulsed laser annealing has been applied on 57Fe/Si(1 0 0) layers in order to study the formation of iron silicides after irradiation with a XeCl excimer laser. The 57Fe layers were produced by pulsed laser deposition. The number of pulses and the fluence were varied. FeSi, β-FeSi2 and metastable γ-FeSi2 phases have been observed after irradiation. Subsequent thermal annealing leads to the presence of a pure β-FeSi2 surface layer. Rutherford backscattering spectrometry and conversion electron Mössbauer spectroscopy characterized the irradiated layers.