In condensed-matter physics, a collision cascade (also known as a displacement cascade or a displacement spike) is a set of nearby adjacent energetic (much higher than ordinary thermal energies) collisions of atoms induced by an energetic particle in a solid or liquid.[1][2]
If the maximum atom or ion energies in a collision cascade are higher than the threshold displacement energy of the material (tens of eVs or more), the collisions can permanently displace atoms from their lattice sites and produce defects. The initial energetic atom can be, e.g., an ion from a particle accelerator, an atomic recoil produced by a passing high-energy neutron, electron or photon, or be produced when a radioactive nucleus decays and gives the atom a recoil energy.
The nature of collision cascades can vary strongly depending on the energy and mass of the recoil/incoming ion and density of the material (stopping power).
- ^ R. S. Averback and T. Diaz de la Rubia (1998). "Displacement damage in irradiated metals and semiconductors". In H. Ehrenfest; F. Spaepen (eds.). Solid State Physics. Vol. 51. Academic Press. pp. 281–402.
- ^ R. Smith, ed. (1997). Atomic & ion collisions in solids and at surfaces: theory, simulation and applications. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-44022-X.