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The crystallographic, electronic, and optical properties of thin ReSi2 films (∼20–300 A) have been investigated in situ by low energy electron diffraction (LEED) and photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS and UPS), ex situ by glancing incidence x‐ray diffraction (GIXD), and optical absorption measurements. Thin Re layers were evaporated under ultrahigh vacuum on Si(111) (7×7) surfaces, maintained at room temperature, or heated at 650 °C. The films were subsequently annealed at increasing high temperature and the silicide formation was followed by in situ surface techniques. For very thin films (≲35 A) LEED shows a faint (1×1) pattern after annealing at 750 °C, which improves slightly up to ∼900 °C. For thick films (∼50–300 A) only a bright background is observed. XPS indicates that the ReSi2 composition is attained upon annealing at 600 °C. In the Re‐Si bonding the charge transfer is negligible: the energy positions of the corelevels (Si 2p and Re 4f) are the same in the compound and in the elements. As the ener...

Semiconducting βFeSi2 has been successfully grown on a Si (111) substrate. It has been proven that under ultrahigh vacuum conditions, the solid phase epitaxy temperature can be lowered to ∼800 K, where only the βFeSi2 phase is stabilized. The disilicide formation was monitored in situ by various surface‐sensitive techniques such as low‐energy electron diffraction, Auger electron spectroscopy, and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy. The epitaxial relationships were ascertained by transmission electron diffraction and microscopy including high‐resolution cross‐sectional image. The results show the epitaxy of βFeSi2 (110) and (101) planes parallel to the Si (111) plane. The disilicide‐silicon heterojunction displays an atomically abrupt interface.