An empirical potential molecular dynamics method was used to simulate α-recoil effects at 350K, where a tetravalent U ion was used as the primary knock-on atom; with a kinetic energy of 6keV. Displacement cascade simulations were carried out for 4 crystallographic directions. A detailed analysis indicated that the primary damage state which was associated with the cascades remained crystalline and consisted of point defects: such as, cation antisite configurations, various interstitials and vacancies. There was no evidence of direct amorphization within the cascades.

Atomistic Modeling of Displacement Cascades in La2Zr2O7 Pyrochlore. A.Chartier, C.Meis, J.P.Crocombette, L.R.Corrales, W.J.Weber: Physical Review B, 2003, 67[17], 174102 (13pp)