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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 February 2011
The epitaxial structural development and surface reactions of barium metal with silicon have been studied as a function of surface coverage. BaSi2 is orthorhombic, and grows epitaxially on Si(001) and Si(111) for surface coverages greater than 1 monolayer (ML). From 0 to 1 ML a series of ordered surface structures develops that suggests a cubic Ba-Si compound. Reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED), Auger and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) data have been obtained in this thin film regime that support a chemical reaction and compound formation between barium and silicon for all barium coverages. In bulk form, at high pressures, BaSi2 can be stabilized into the cubic SrSi2 structure. We suggest that epitaxial strain at the silicon surface provides a mechanism for stabilizing the low-coverage precursors of the orthorhombic BaSi2.