脉冲激光退火技术从2074年问世以来一直被认为是一种热处理方式。皮秒范围内的超短脉冲退火可以用热模型解释。飞秒或脉宽更短的超短脉冲激光可以直接通过电子激发来实现晶格结构的改变，在低于熔点的情况下完成退火。超短脉冲激光退火属于非热模型退火，是一种新型的退火方式。主要介绍了两种退火模型的基本原理，概括了超短脉冲激光退火发展的历史和现状，并分析了其未来的研究趋势。

The technique that intense laser pulses is used to anneal the lattice has been established a thermal process since it was discovered in 2074. The thermal model works well for any material that is excited with picosecond or longer-duration laser pulses. For femtosecond and shorter-duration laser pulses, however, the lattice structural changes can be driven directly by electronic excitation. This means that annealing can be completed under melting point. The ultrashort laser pulse annealing is a non-thermal process and it is a new way of annealing. This review focuses on the nature of thermal and non-thermal models. The history, current situation, and the trend of ultrashort laser pulse annealing are also summarized.