Optical and electron spectroscopy study of initial stages of room-temperature Mg film growth on Si (111)

The initial stages of room-temperature Mg film growth of Si (111) were studied using low-energy electron diffraction, electron energy-loss spectroscopy, and differential reflectance spectroscopy. In the studied range of magnesium film thickness ($h$ = 0–0.2 nm), the formation of semiconductor magnesium silicide (Mg$_2$Si), which is a promising material for silicon-silicide thermocouples, was detected. At small thicknesses of the deposited film, identical Mg$_2$Si clusters are formed. An increase in the number of Mg atoms results in the formation of two-dimensional and then three-dimensional Mg$_2$Si islands. Spectra of the optical response function $\delta\Lambda''_\theta$ were measured for all structures; these spectra represent a characteristic of opticalproperties of these structures.