Laser Annealing of Semiconductors

Laser Annealing of Semiconductors deals with the materials science of surfaces that have been subjected to ultrafast heating by intense laser or electron beams. This book is organized into 13 chapters that specifically tackle transient annealing of compound semiconductors. After briefly dealing with an overview of laser annealing, this book goes on discussing the concepts of solidification and crystallization pertinent to the field. These topics are followed by discussions on the main mechanisms of interaction of photon and electron beams with condensed matter; the calculation of thermophysical properties of crystalline materials; and high-speed crystal growth by laser annealing of ion-implanted silicon. The subsequent chapters describe the microstructural and topographical properties of annealed semiconductor layers and the epitaxy of ion-implanted silicon irradiated with a laser or electron beam single pulse. This text also explores the electronic and surface properties and the continuous-wave beam processing of semiconductors. The concluding chapters cover various reactions in metal-semiconductor systems, such as fast and laser-induced melting, solidification, mixing, and quenching. Laser-induced interactions in metal-semiconductor systems and the factors involved in control of the heat treatment process are also discussed in these chapters. Materials scientists and researchers and device engineers will find this book invaluable.