Detailed characterization of defect production in molecular dynamics simulations of cascades in Si

Numerous molecular dynamics simulation studies of radiation cascades in Si have elucidated many of the general features of the initial defect production. However, the resulting defect structures have been analyzed with techniques that are not sensitive to changes in the local bonding topology. Here the results of analyzing the ring content in Si cascades, in addition to more traditional defect characterization such as Wigner–Seitz cell analysis, will be presented for recoil energies ranging from 25 eV up to 25 keV. The ring content of local amorphous regions in the cascades will be compared to the ring content in simulations of bulk amorphous Si. The number of atoms in the amorphous regions and the number of point defects as a function of recoil energy are determined.