Selective processing of semiconductor nanowires by polarized visible radiation

Semiconductor nanowires have attracted intense interest due to potential applications in electronics, sensors and photonics. Introduction of dopants and their subsequent activation are essential for exploiting the electronic properties of semiconductor materials. In this work, we demonstrate pulsed laser annealing of silicon nanowires by visible radiation to be an efficient way for activating incorporated dopants and repairing implantation damage in a process that is compatible with sensitive flexible substrates. In situ electrical monitoring was used to study the laser annealing process. The absorption of laser light in SiNWs was shown to be strongly dependent on the light polarization and nanowire diameter based on finite difference time domain simulations.