Laser irradiation of silicon containing misfit dislocations

Silicon containing misfit dislocations caused by ion implantation and thermal annealing were irradiated with a scanning Q‐switched Nd‐YAG laser. It was found that misfit dislocations can be removed completely. It was established that this removal is thermally stable. Evidence for a melting‐resolidification mechanism was observed. The thermally stable removal of misfit dislocations is discussed in terms of this mechanism.