Athermal annealing of phosphorus-ion-implanted silicon

A 1 cm2 area in phosphorus-implanted silicon samples is annealed by irradiation of a much smaller 0.002 cm2 area with a single laser pulse. Resistivity of the annealed region is uniform and similar to that measured after thermal annealing. Electrically activated donors did not diffuse into the sample and only slightly towards the sample surface. The process is 100% reproducible. We present evidence that the annealing is not caused by heat.