High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) in conjunction with autocorrelation function (ACF) analysis have been applied to investigate the evolution of structural order in iron ion-implanted amorphous silicon layers. beta-FeSi2 nanocrystallites as small as 5 nm in size were detected in 600 degreesC annealed for 60 min a-Si layers. The embedded nanocrystalline beta-FeSi2 was found to grow in the interlayer with annealing temperature. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.