A study was made of the threshold displacement energy in germanium using density functional theory molecular dynamics simulations. The average threshold energy over all lattice directions, required to create stable Frenkel pairs, was found to be 23eV. In the <111> and <100> lattice directions, the threshold energies were 11.5 and 19.5eV, respectively. In a considerable fraction of all of the studied directions, a bond defect was created having a lower threshold than a Frenkel pair. The average threshold energy required to create either a bond defect or a Frenkel pair was found to be 21eV.

Threshold Defect Production in Germanium Determined by Density Functional Theory Molecular Dynamics Simulations. E.Holmström, K.Nordlund, A.Kuronen: Physica Scripta, 2010, 81[3], 035601