Furnace annealing and lamp annealing of aluminum implanted layers in 4H silicon carbide (SiC) were investigated with respect to surface degradation and electrical parameters. A sheet resistance of about 20kΩ/□ was obtained for an aluminum implantation dose of 1.2.• 10(11)cm(-2) and annealing in the furnace at 1700° C for 30min. For the same implantation dose, lamp annealing at 1770° C for 5min resulted in a three times higher sheet resistance of 60kΩ/□. The surface roughness was best for the lamp system and stayed below 1nm for Al doses lower than 1• 10(15)cm(-2).