A mechanical model was proposed for the amorphization of solids. The model was based on a concept according to which the accumulation of radiation-induced defects gave rise to forces and force moments that act on local volumes of the material and were responsible for fragmentation. The estimates obtained demonstrated that the proposed model could adequately describe the amorphization of solids only with allowance made for strain waves generated during reactions between defects. This model was consistent with the paracrystalline structure of Si layers transformed into the amorphous state under ion bombardment.

A Mechanical Model of Amorphization under Ion Bombardment. D.I.Tetelbaum, Y.A.Mendeleva: Physics of the Solid State, 2004, 46[11], 2026-9