Methods of forming a denuded zone in a semiconductor wafer using rapid laser annealing

A method of forming a denuded zone in an oxygen-containing semiconductor wafer having a surface, a body, and a melting temperature, comprising:

• forming a radiation beam of a wavelength that is capable of being absorbed by the wafer;
• and
• scanning the radiation beam across the wafer surface to briefly raise the temperature of each scanned point on the wafer surface to be at or near the wafer melting temperature to cause oxygen near the surface to diffuse through the wafer surface;
• wherein the radiation beam has sufficient intensity to melt the wafer surface during said scanning, and further including providing an absorptive layer atop the wafer surface that has a melting temperature greater than that of the wafer, and that has a thickness and absorption characteristics such that the absorptive layer absorbs at least 50% or more of the radiation beam incident thereon prior to passing to the underlying wafer surface.

A method of processing a semiconductor wafer, comprising:

• providing an oxygen-containing semiconductor wafer unsuitable for direct use for manufacturing a semiconductor device;
• forming a denuded zone in an oxygen-containing semiconductor wafer having a surface, a body, and a melting temperature, by:
• forming a radiation beam of a wavelength that is capable of being absorbed by the wafer;
• and
• scanning the radiation beam across the wafer surface to briefly raise the temperature of each scanned point on the wafer surface to be at or near the wafer melting temperature to cause oxygen near the surface to diffuse through the wafer surface by moving the wafer in a plane defined by the wafer surface wherein moving the wafer is accomplished by securing the wafer to a chuck that resides on a wafer stage, and then moving the wafer stage;
• wherein the radiation beam is formed from at least one laser that includes a laser diode;
• and
• implanting dopants into the surface of the wafer.

A method of processing a semiconductor wafer, comprising:

• providing an oxygen-containing semiconductor wafer unsuitable for direct use for manufacturing a semiconductor device;
• forming a denuded zone in an oxygen-containing semiconductor wafer having a body and an unpatterned or substantially unpatterned surface, by:
• forming a radiation beam from at least one laser that includes a laser diode;
• and
• scanning a radiation beam over the surface to raise the temperature of each point on the wafer surface to a maximum temperature of at least 1,200° C. for no more than 10 milliseconds to cause oxygen to diffuse out from the wafer surface to form immediately adjacent the wafer surface a shallow oxygen-depleted region having an oxygen concentration insufficient to form oxygen-related precipitates by moving the wafer in a plane defined by the wafer surface wherein moving the wafer is accomplished by securing the wafer to a chuck that resides on a wafer stage, and then moving the wafer stage;
• and
• implanting dopants into the surface of the wafer.

A method of forming a denuded zone in an oxygen containing semiconductor wafer having a surface, a body, and a melting temperature, comprising:

• forming a radiation beam of a wavelength that is capable of being absorbed by the wafer;
• scanning the radiation beam across the wafer surface to briefly raise the temperature of each scanned point on the wafer surface to be at or near the wafer melting temperature to cause oxygen near the surface to diffuse through the wafer surface wherein the radiation beam is formed from at least one laser that includes a laser diode with the radiation beam forming an image on the wafer surface;
• collecting radiation from the radiation beam that is reflected from the wafer surface where said image is formed;
• and
• returning said collected radiation back to the image.

A method of forming a denuded zone in an oxygen-containing semiconductor wafer having a body and an unpatterned or substantially unpatterned surface, comprising:

• forming a radiation beam from at least one laser that includes a laser diode to form an image on the wafer surface;
• scanning a radiation beam over the surface to raise the temperature of each point on the wafer surface to a maximum temperature of at least 1,200° C. for no more than 10 milliseconds to cause oxygen to diffuse out from the wafer surface to form immediately adjacent the wafer surface a shallow oxygen-depleted region having an oxygen concentration insufficient to form oxygen-related precipitates;
• collecting radiation from the radiation beam that is reflected from the wafer surface where said image is formed;
• and
• returning said collected radiation back to the image.