Influence of stacking fault energies on the size distribution and character of defect clusters formed by collision cascades in face-centered cubic metals

Molecular dynamics simulations are performed to evaluate the influence of the stacking fault energy (SFE) as a single variable parameter on defect formation by collision cascades in face-centered cubic metals. The simulations are performed for energies of a primary knock-on atom (EPKA) up to 50 keV at 100 K by using six sets of the recently developed embedded atom method-type potentials. Neither the number of residual defects nor their clustering behavior is found to be affected by the SFE, except for the mean size of the vacancy clusters at EPKA = 50 keV. The mean size increases as the SFE decreases because of the enhanced formation of large vacancy clusters, which prefer to have stacking faults inside them. On the other hand, the ratio of glissile self-interstitial atom (SIA) clusters decreases as the SFE increases. At higher SFEs, both the number of Frank loops and number of perfect loops tend to decrease; instead, three-dimensional irregular clusters with higher densities appear, most of which are sessile. The effect of SFE on the number of Frank loops becomes apparent only at a high EPKA of 50 keV, where comparably large SIA clusters can be formed with a higher density.