Modeling of heat flow in multilayer cw laser-annealed structures

Abstract

The three-dimensional heat diffusion equation has been solved numerically for scanning cw laser-annealed multilayer structures. The computational method can be applied to laser beams with either circular or elliptical symmetry. The temperature dependence of relevant optical and thermal properties has been included and good agreement with experimental results is obtained. The dynamics of melting are examined and discussed. It is found that the presence of a thin buried oxide in a silicon wafer substantially increases the sensitivity of the maximum melt depth to laser power.