Ion Beam Studies of Amorphous Si or 'Laser Annealing Revisited'

The formation of amorphous Si by ion implantation is an important aspect of the science and technology of integrated circuit processing. Much has been learned of the kinetic and thermodynamic properties of amorphous Si using furnace and laser annealing. Results on the recently discovered regime of ion-beam-induced crystallization and impurity diffusion and segregation in the amorphous phase will be discussed. There are striking similarities in behavior at the amorphous-crystal and liquid-crystal interface.