Laser annealing of silicon

Silicon is one of the most studied and best understood of all materials because of its importance to the integrated circuit industry. The emergence of laser annealing (1,2) in the last ten years has brought about new insight into some of its basic properties and new ways of processing. A quick look at the way integrated circuits are made reveals the reasons for the interest in laser annealing. To make integrated circuits, manufacturers slice very pure crystals of Si into thin wafers. Then they use complex fabrication techniques to produce electrically doped regions close to the surface of the Si and to produce insulating and conducting films that overlay the surface. These doped regions and films can be as thin as a few hundred atomic layers.