Comparison of binary collision approximation and molecular dynamics for displacement cascades in GaAs.

The predictions of binary collision approximation (BCA) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of displacement cascades in GaAs are compared. There are three issues addressed in this work. The first is the optimal choice of the effective displacement threshold to use in the BCA calculations to obtain the best agreement with MD results. Second, the spatial correlations of point defects are compared. This is related to the level of clustering that occurs for different types of radiation. Finally, the size and structure of amorphous zones seen in the MD simulations is summarized. BCA simulations are not able to predict the formation of amorphous material