Room-temperature preparation of β-FeSi2 microprecipitates by the KrF excimer laser ablation of an iron disilicide alloy target

Abstract

We have fabricated β-FeSi2 microprecipitates at room temperature using KrF excimer laser ablation of an α-FeSi2 alloy target. Raman spectra with a spatial resolution of 1 μm confirmed that the micron-sized droplets generated by laser ablation precipitate as the β-FeSi2 crystalline phase on a silicon substrate maintained at RT, whereas the rest of the deposited film is amorphous. It was also found that films containing a high density of β-FeSi2 precipitates exhibited 1.55 μm photoluminescence at low temperature (up to 200 K) after annealing at 800 °C for 6 h in an argon atmosphere.