Laser-induced melting and recrystallization of CVD grown polycrystalline Si/SiGe/Ge layers

SiGe/Ge layers were deposited by CVD on either Si or Si/SiO2 substrates and were subjected with pulsed laser annealing (LA). In situ measurements of time-resolved reflectivity revealed strong dependence of melting time on both energy density and type of the substrate. Depending on laser energy density and on type of substrate, initially microcrystalline and amorphous as-deposited layers were transformed to polycrystalline with different morphology and size of the grains. The results are discussed within the model of liquid-phase recrystallization.