We have succeeded in preparing single-phase cementite films using an electron-shower-assisted PVD method. This paper reports the effects of the power of electron shower and substrate bias on the synthesis of the cementite films. Single-phase cementite films were synthesized using the power of electron shower over 0.3 kW. When the substrate bias was -300 V, oxygen atoms were not detected in the him using EPMA. We obtained a cementite film with a composition of Fe : C : O = 77 : 23 : 0 at -400 V, which is very similar to the stoichiometry of cementite. Electron diffraction patterns showed that the cementite film was single-phase. XPS spectra revealed that the binding energies of Fe 2p(3/2) and C Is for the cementite were 707.3 and 283.5 eV, respectively, and an oxygen peak was not observed clearly. O 1999 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.