Hydrogenated amorphous silicon obtained by rf sputtering has been annealed using cw lasers (Ar or Kr ion). The annealed films have been microanalyzed for quantitative profiling of hydrogen and argon. TEM analysis was used for structure determination. The release of hydrogen and argon as well as the grain size of the polycrystalline material obtained are related to the deposited laser energy. Comparison with other production methods of such material from the amorphous state is discussed.