Semiconducting beta-FeSi2 films were grown on Si(0 0 1) substrates via Fe-Si solid phase reaction with the bi-layered Fe/Ti/Si structure. Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were performed to analyze the composition, crystallinity and preferred orientation of the beta-FeSi, films. The Ti interlayer between Si and Fe films acted as a diffusion barrier to limit the supply of Fe atoms, leading to improvement in the crystalline quality. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved