B+ and P+ ions were implanted into Ge wafers covered with a pre-amorphised surface layer of 150 nm. After this, flash lamp annealing (FLA) in Ar atmosphere was used as post-implantation heat treatment. Radiation with Xenon. ash lamps, having a spectrum in the visible range of light and a pulse length of 3 ms or 20 ms, allowed an ultra-short heating up of the near surface region. In this way, a modi. cation of the structure of the as-implanted amorphous Ge layer was possible. Depth profiles of defects, especially those of the vacancy-type, were investigated by slow positron implantation spectroscopy (SPIS) before and after FLA. It was found that the remaining vacancy-type defect structure depends on the parameters of the process of heat treatment, and that these defects could not be completely removed by FLA. Results are compared with such from SRIM 2006 calculations (stopping and range of ions in matter) and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS). (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.