Pulsed-laser and thermal processing: review of pulsed-laser annealing effects in silicon

A short review of the lattice heating, dopant redistribution, and rapid crystal growth effects associated with pulsed-laser annealing in silicon is given. The mechanism of pulsed-laser annealing in silicon has been discussed in terms of the thermal melting and plasma fluid models. Although a heated controversy arose as to the appropriate model, evidence establishing thermal melting as the mechanism of defect removal and dopant redistribution is now overwhelming. Time resolved x-ray diffraction, transient electrical conductivity, and thermal particle emission played central roles in distinguishing between the two models