Growth and structural characterization of semiconducting Ru2Si3

Recent band structure calculations indicate that ruthenium silicide (Ru₂Si₃) is semiconducting with a direct band gap. Electrical measurements lead to a band gap around 0.8 eV which is technologically important for fiber communications. This makes Ru₂Si₃ a promising candidate for silicon based optical devices, namely LEDs. We present first results on the epitaxial growth of ruthenium silicide films on Si(1 0 0) and Si(1 1 1) fabricated by the template method, a special molecular beam epitaxy technique. Orientational relationships on Si(1 1 1) have been determined. We characterized the films by Rutherford Backscattering and Channeling, X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy.