Wettability, Surface Morphology and Structural Properties of β-FeSi2 Films Manufactured Through Usage of Radio-Frequency Magnetron Sputtering

In this research, β -FeSi 2 thin films were manufactured onto Si(111) wafer substrates through the usage of radio-frequency magnetron sputtering (RFMS) method at 2.66 × 10 −1 Pa of sputtering pressure. The substrate temperatures were varied at 500 °C, 560 °C, and 600 °C. The Raman lines of the β -FeSi 2 fabricated at 500 °C revealed the peaks at the positions of ~174 cm −1 , ~189 cm −1 , ~199 cm −1 , ~243 cm −1 , ~278 cm −1 , and ~334 cm −1 . For the higher substrate temperatures of 560 °C and 600 °C, the Raman peaks of ~189 cm −1 , ~243 cm −1 , and ~278 cm −1 were shifted toward higher Raman positions. The surface view of the films was observed with several grains over the β -FeSi 2 film surface at all substrate temperatures. The average grain size of the films for the samples deposited at 500 °C and 560 °C was in the range of 28 to 30 nm, where the size was enlarged to 36 nm at 600 °C of substrate temperature. The root mean square roughness were 10.19 nm, 10.84 nm, and 13.67 nm for the β -FeSi 2 film surface prepared at the substrate temperatures of 500 °C, 560 °C, and 600 °C, respectively. The contact angle (  CA ) values were 99.25°, 99.80°, and 102.00° for the created samples at 500 °C, 560 °C, and 600 °C, respectively. As the acquired  CA values, all β -FeSi 2 samples exhibited a hydrophobic property with  CA in the range of 90° to 150°. Consequently, the produced β -FeSi 2 film surface employing the RFMS method indicated a potential to be employed in a hydrophobic coating application.