Laser etching of silicon: Dopant desorption, diffusion and segregation during laser induced surface melting

The laser induced redistribution and desorption of dopant atoms (B, As, Sb) is measured in presence and in absence of chlorine at the surface. We define a desorption efficacy which is found to depend strongly on the dopant atom, increasing from boron to arsenic and to antimony. The implications for etching, doping and annealing experiments are discussed.