CONSIDERATIONS OF RECOIL EFFECTS IN MICROSTRUCTURAL EVOLUTION

The cascade processes are discussed which potentially give rise to a dependence of microstructural evolution on the recoil spectra set up by a flux of fast particles. It is emphasised that the thermal spike phase of cascade development is central to these processes. Recent results from Molecular Dynamics simulations are presented to highlight the potential importance of interstitial clustering in cascades and the impact of cascades on pre-existing features of the microstructure. A qualitative discussion is presented of the likely importance on microstructural evolution at low and high doses of the different cascade processes.