INFRARED AND RAMAN CHARACTERIZATION OF BETA-IRON SILICIDE

Samples of beta-iron silicide were prepared by three different methods: solid phase reaction on silicon (111), on a monocrystalline FeSi substrate, and from the melt. These samples have been characterized by x-ray diffraction and investigated by Infrared and Raman spectroscopies. The infrared and Raman lines are compared with theoretical predictions given by the factor group analysis of the silicide primitive cell, which yields the number and the symmetry of the different modes. We relate the red shift of the Infrared and Raman lines on samples with smaller lattice parameters to the presence of Iron vacancies in films deposited on silicon, in agreement with the sign of the thermoelectric power.