Investigation of structural-phase transitions dynamics on the surface of implanted silicon at rapid thermal processing

Dynamics of recrystallization of implanted silicon surface has been investigated using an in situ diffraction method. The method is based on registering the diffraction signal from a special periodic structure formed by ion implantation. The change of the intensity of the diffraction maximum may enable one to define the moment when recrystallization of the amorphous layer ends, the moment when the local melting of the surface starts and the duration of the stage when the liquid phase exists. Investigation of the dynamics of recrystallization and anisotropic local melting of implanted silicon under irradiation by pulses of incoherent light with different duration and power densities has been carried out. Our method enables one to carry out rapid thermal annealing with a feedback on the ending of recrystallization. This provides a better control on the formation of shallow p-n junctions. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.