Fundamentals of Laser Annealing

Abstract

One of the most fascinating debates in the field of semiconductor physics in recent years centers on the fundamental interpretation of laser annealing. The question of the energy transfer from an intense laser beam to a disordered material, such as amorphous silicon, resulting in the crystallization of the amorphous substance has been approached from two different points of view, both referring to a set of fairly clear experimental results. On one hand, a large number of publications concludes that the laser beam simply heats the sample up to melting the amorphous material which on cooling crystallizes from melt. On the other hand, one has considered that amorphous to crystalline phase transitions can occur at low temperatures without passing through the molten state. Many arguments have been developed in support of these interpretations. A large number of publications have appeared in the literature.