Preparation of iridium silicide thin films by means of electron beam evaporation

Iridium silicide thin films were prepared by means of electron beam evaporation. The deposition process was monitored by measuring the deposition rates using quartz-crystal oscillators and the temperature at the rear of the substrate. The film composition was determined by means of energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX). It changes systematically as a result of the geometric arrangement of the evaporators and of the substrate permitting the preparation of layers with continually varied range of stoichiometry during one deposition experiment. The structure of the layers becomes amorphous when the substrates temperature becomes lower than 373 K during deposition process. The impurity concentration of the layers was determined by means of mass spectrometry to be less than 600 at.-ppm which is about 2 orders of magnitude less than that of layers deposited by means of magnetron sputtering