Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 February 2011
This paper provides a brief overview of the application of transient annealing to the removal of ion implantation damage and dopant activation in GaAs. It is shown that both the liquid phase and solid phase annealing processes are more complex in GaAs than those observed in Si. Particular attention is given to observations of damage removal, surface dissociation, dopant redistribution, solubility and the electrical properties of GaAs. The various annealing mechanisms are discussed and areas in need of further investigation are identified.