Ultra-thin Ir-silicide layers -solid state reaction andstress-stabilised new phasesUte H ormannJuli 2004The form, then, of any portion of matter, whetherit be living or dead, and the changes of form whichare apparent in its movements an in its growth,may in all cases alike be described as due to theaction of force. In short, the form of an object isa ’diagram of forces’, in this sense, at least, thatfrom it we can judge of or deduce the forces thatare acting or have acted upon it: in this strictand particular sense, it is a diagram - in case ofa solid, of the forces which have been impressedupon it when its conformation was produced,together with those which enable it to retain itsconformation.[1]D’ARCY THOMPSONContents1 Introduction 72 Silicidation and properties of bulk stable phases 102.1 Reaction sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102.2 Properties of Ir silicides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 Interface controlled stabilisation of bulk-unstable phases 154 Structural features of intermetallic compounds 214.1 Description of modulated superstructures in real space . . . . . . 214.2 Representation in Fourier-space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225 Experimental methods and calculations 265.1 Transmission Electron Microscopy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265.1.1 Electron di raction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265.1.2 High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy . . . .