Molecular dynamics simulations of collision cascades in 2 elemental semiconductors and 5 face-centered cubic metals were performed in order to clarify how material characteristics affected primary defect production during ion bombardment. By simulating 400eV to 10keV collision cascades, and comparing the results for the above materials, the effects of mass, melting point, strength, and crystal structure were determined. The results showed that the crystal structure had a marked effect upon many aspects of damage production, while the other characteristics were of less importance. In all of the materials, the isolated point defects which were produced by the cascade were mainly interstitials. In semiconductors, amorphous clusters were produced in the cascade core whereas, in metals, most of the crystal regenerated to leave only small vacancy-rich clusters. Large interstitial clusters, which were occasionally found in the case of heavy metals, were formed via the isolation of a high-density liquid zone during recrystallization of the cascade.

Defect Production in Collision Cascades in Elemental Semiconductors and FCC Metals K.Nordlund, M.Ghaly, R.S.Averback, M.Caturla, T.Diaz de la Rubia, J.Tarus: Physical Review B, 1998, 57[13], 7556-70