Laser annealing of silicon implanted with both argon and arsenic

Silicon samples implanted with both Ar and As at fluences of 1×1016/cm2 were irradiated with Q-switched Nd double-frequency laser pulses. Reordering of the damaged layers occurs for 30- and 130-keV Ar implants at about 0.6 and 1.3 J/cm2, respectively. An Ar concentration of the order of (1-3)×1020 atoms/cm 3 is retained, while good As substitutionality is observed. The presence of Ar atoms does not seem to inhibit the As-Si reordering during pulsed laser annealing, and likewise the As atoms do not seem to inhibit Ar out-diffusion. This behavior contrasts markedly with the strong coupling found in furnace annealing.