The epitaxial growth of terbium silicide by codeposition on Si(111) is demonstrated. Terbium and silicon are evaporated onto substrates held at room temperature and subsequently annealed up to 850 °C, where the pressure during evaporation and annealing is maintained below 1×10−9Torr. Low‐energy electron diffraction shows a sharp (3)1/2×(3)1/2pattern of the hexagonal silicide after an 850 °C anneal. The morphology in these films in much improved over that of metal reacted layers with pinholes of <0.15 &mgr;m in diameter. Rutherford backscattering analysis indicates single‐crystal growth with a channeling minimum yield of 9% for 150‐A˚‐thick silicide films annealed to 800–850 °C. Plan view electron microscopy shows the evidence of faults along ⟨2¯20⟩ directions, but no indication of a superstructure in the silicide layer. The microstructure of the thick film is shown to be strongly affected by the formation of a template layer prior to thick film deposition.