FUNDAMENTAL-ASPECTS OF DEFECT PRODUCTION IN SOLIDS

Irradiation of solids with energetic particles leads to the production of lattice defects in the form of Frenkel pairs, anti-site defects, d efect clusters, dislocation loops and amorphous zones in the bulk and to sputtered atoms, adatoms, and craters near the surface. Predicting which types of damage prevail in specific situations has been a diffic ult chore; however, recent developments in computer simulations have g reatly facilitated this task. This review highlights the results of th ese simulations and provides a fundamental understanding of the damage process in a variety of pure metals, intermetallic compounds, and pur e Si. The special role of surfaces on damage production is a central f ocus of this work. In addition, recent experimental investigations of alloy disordering in Cu3Au during 1 MeV He bombardment and STM imaging of single ion impacts on Pt will be reviewed to illustrate the level of accuracy that has now been achieved by these simulations.