Different shallow n-type and p-type dopants were annealed with spike, flash, and a combination of spike+flash or vice versa to find the optimum annealing condition for both activation and diffusion. The implant conditions investigated during this study were Ge-74(+) with B-11(+) as well as B-11(+), (BF2+)-B-49, and As-75(+). The wafers were characterized regarding sheet resistance, junction depth, and chemical dose. An electrically active dose was derived from the Hall-effect measurement. Transmission electron microscopy analysis for the characterization of defects was done on selected samples. Boron implanted into crystalline as well as preamorphized silicon shows a similarly low sheet resistance which is independent of whether they are annealed with spike+flash, flash, or flash+spike. For arsenic by far the lowest sheet resistance is seen with a combination of spike+flash anneal. The main advantage when using a spike+flash anneal combination is that similar sheet resistance values for arsenic and boron implant can be achieved with the same anneal sequence. (C) 2008 American Vacuum Society.