Ultrafast Laser Annealingof Semiconductors

The technique that intense laser pulses is used to anneal the lattice has been established a thermal process since it was discovered in 1974.The thermal model works well for any material that is excited with picosecond or longer-duration laser pulses.For femtosecond and shorter-duration laser pulses,however,the lattice structural changes can be driven directly by electronic excitation.This means that annealing can be completed under melting point.The ultrashort laser pulse annealing is a non-thermal process and it is a new way of annealing.This review focuses on the nature of thermal and non-thermal models.The history,current situation,and the trend of ultrashort laser pulse annealing are also summarized.