Laser Processing of Ion Implanted Silicon

Many of the unique advantages of ion implantation for selective alteration of materials properties are often negated by the necessity for thermal annealing to remove radiation damage resulting from the implantation process. Recent experimental results will be presented which indicate that pulsed ruby lasers provide a new and promising alternative for processing ion implanted silicon. Silicon single crystals implanted with B, P, As, Sb, Cu and Fe were investigated before and after laser annealing utilizing the techniques of ion channeling, ion backscattering, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray Bragg reflection. The mechanisms of laser annealing, crystal regrowth and dopant redistribution were deduced, and it will be shown that a variety of materials alterations can be achieved by controlling the implanted dopant profile and concentration, the dopant species, and the laser parameters. Applications of ion implantation and laser annealing to achieve new materials properties and their use in processing materials is discussed.