In this paper the NBTI degradation has been studied in pMOS transistors with ultra-thin high-k dielectric subjected to a millisecond anneal for ultra-shallow junction implantation using different laser powers. An ultrafast characterization technique has been developed with the aim of acquiring the threshold voltage (Vth) shift in relaxation times as short as possible once the electrical stress is removed. It has been observed that increasing the millisecond anneal temperature reduce the NBTI degradation. These results have been explained in the context of the emission and capture probability maps of the defects. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.