Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 February 2011
The temperature dependent competition between solid phase epitaxy and random crystallization in ion-implanted (As+, B+, F+, and BF2+) silicon films is investigated. Measurements of time-resolved reflectivity during cw laser heating show that in the As+, F+, and BF2+-implanted layers (conc 4×1020cm-3) epitaxial growth is disrupted at temperatures 1000°C. This effect is not observed in intrinsic films or in the B+-implanted layers. Correlation with results of microstructural analyses and computer simulation of the reflectivity experiment indicates that disruption of epitaxy is caused by enhancement of the random crystallization rate by arsenic and fluorine. Kinetics parameters for the enhanced crystallization process are determined; results are interpreted in terms of impurity-catalyzed nucleation during the random crystallization process.