Heat-pulse annealing of arsenic-implanted silicon with a CW arc lamp

A new annealing method is introduced whereby a silicon wafer is irradiated by a short heat pulse generated by CW lamps. Results of the annealing process obtained from medium-dose arsenic-implanted silicon are similar to those obtained from nonmelting short heat treatments-complete activation of the implanted dopant with no diffusion or distortion of the impurity profile. Investigation of the crystal structure by means of TEM indicates a lack of any defects down to a resolution of 10 Å. Because of its simplicity, heat-pulse annealing has the potential of higher throughput in comparison to equivalent laser or electron-beam irradiation.