cw argon laser annealing of ion-implanted silicon

We report on the annealing behavior of ion-implanted silicon exposed to cw argon laser radiation. The quality of the annealing was studied using channeling, in situ reflectivity, phase-contrast microscopy, and electrical resistivity. Strong dependence of anneal quality on laser power, crystal orientation, and implant dose is reported. Reflectivity measurements with a focused probing laser show that the onset of annealing occurs just below the melting point, and the annealing extends into the region where a thin layer of liquid silicon is formed at the crystal surface. We conclude that the physical mechanism responsible for crystal recovery is similar to the solid-state epitaxial regrowth observed for over-annealed samples.