The existence of amorphous semiconducting FeSi2, having a direct band gap of 0.88 eV. is demonstrated. It was synthesized by ion beam mixing of 50 nm Fe on Si(1 0 0) with 120 keV Ar-8 ions, at 300 degreesC. Rapid diffusion of Si to the surface is assigned to be the dominating process that results in the formation of amorphous FeSi2 phase, Other Synthesis techniques should be possible for fabrication of this material. and it Could be applied in large area electronics, (C) 2002 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.