Optical studies during pulsed CO2 laser irradiation of ion-implanted silicon

The time-resolved optical reflectivity (at 633-nm wavelength) of ion-implanted silicon is measured during and immediately after CO2 laser irradiation [λ=10.6 μm, pulse duration (FWHM)=70 ns] as a function of the energy density of the laser. For a heavily doped sample and incident energy densities greater than 2.9 J/cm2, the reflectivity of the probe beam is found to rapidly jump to 70%, which is consistent with the reflectivity of liquid silicon. The high-reflectivity phase lasts for up to 1 μs, indicating a relatively deep molten layer as compared to similar annealing experiments with a visible or ultraviolet laser. The transmittance and reflectance (at 10.6-μm wavelength) of ion-implanted silicon are also reported as a function of the energy density of the CO2 laser. For energy densities slightly exceeding a threshold value, the transmittance (reflectance) of the tailing edge of the pulse is found to greatly decrease (increase). The interpretation of the optical measurements is based on a thermal model in which surface melting occurs for incident energy densities exceeding a threshold value.