A microscopic model was proposed for the amorphization that resulted from ion implantation. It was demonstrated that amorphization could be caused by the presence of defects, provided that they formed clusters which were embedded in a defective crystalline matrix. The results were in marked agreement with transmission electron microscopic measurements, and confirmed the super-linear dependence of damage upon the deposited energy. This supported the assumption that the crystalline-to-amorphous transition occurred via nucleation and growth.

L.J.Lewis, R.M.Nieminen: Physical Review B, 1996, 54[3], 1459-62