Annealing of ion-implanted silicon by a dense plasma focus

The hydrogen ions generated at the open end of the coaxial electrodes of a dense plasma focus (DPF) can be used as a source for the annealing of ion-implanted semiconductors. The versatility of the dense plasma focus bears to its short pinch duration (∼ 100 ns), high ion density (&sim10
¹⁹
cm
^-3
), and high thermal energy (∼10
⁷
K). Sheet resistance and I-V characteristic measurements indicate complete regrowth of the damaged wafers after plasma annealing.