Atomic-scale simulations of multiple ion–solid interactions and structural evolution in silicon carbide

Molecular dynamics (MD) were employed in atomic-level simulations of fundamental damage production processes due to multiple ion–solid collision events in cubic SiC. Isolated collision cascades produce single interstitials, vacancies, antisite defects, and small defect clusters. As the number of cascades (or equivalent dose) increases, the concentration of defects increases, and the collision cascades begin to overlap. The coalescence of defects and clusters with increasing dose is an important mechanism leading to amorphization in SiC and is consistent with the homogeneous amorphization process observed experimentally in SiC. The driving force for the crystalline– amorphous (c–a) transition is the accumulation of both interstitials and antisite defects. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) images of the defect accumulation process and loss of long-range order in the MD simulation cell are consistent with experimental HRTEM images and disorder measurements. Thus, the MD simulations provide atomic-level insights into the interpretation of experimentally observed features associated with multiple ion–solid collision events in SiC.