Displacement Cascades. Dynamics and Atomic Structure

This paper reviews the early history of displacement spikes, replacement collision sequences (RDSs), 'diluted' or depleted zones and thermal spikes. Then the use is discussed of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and field-ion microscopy as techniques by which one can study the dynamics of the formation of DCs and the spatial array of point defects - on an atomic scale - associated with quiescent DCs, respectively. These techniques demonstrate quantitatively that a DC consists of a vacancy-rich core surrounded by a distribution of self-interstitial atoms (SIAs) - the latter are predominately created by RCSs. Some results for copper and tungsten are presented.