Pulsed laser annealing of GaAs in a high-pressure argon gas ambience

Pulsed laser annealing was carried out for n-type semiconducting GaAs in air, 1 bar nitrogen, 1 bar argon, and 100 bar argon gas ambiences. Depth profiles of the atomic ratio measured by SIMS indicate that pulse annealing in air results in As loss and penetration of oxygen into the crystal, both of which affect dopant redistribution and deteriorate electrical properties of the annealed layer. High electrical activity (100%) and electron mobilities were achieved for high-dose implants of Si⁺ (1 × 10¹⁵ cm⁻²) by pulsed laser annealing in the high-pressure ambience.