Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 4, 2026

Methods of Ex Situ and In Situ Investigations of Structural Transformations: The Case of Crystallization of Metallic Glasses
Published on: June 7, 2018
Disorder-recrystallization effects in low-energy beam-solid interactions
M J Beck1, R D Schrimpf, D M Fleetwood
1Department of Physics and Astronomy, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37235, USA. m.beck@vanderbilt.edu
Abstract:
It is widely believed that high-kinetic-energy (>1 keV) recoils in crystalline Si result in the formation of amorphous regions, whereas low-kinetic-energy recoils lead directly to isolated point defects. Here we study the response of a Si crystal using dynamical density-functional calculations and show that recoils of much less than 1 keV result in highly disordered regions that persist for hundreds of femtoseconds. Therefore, beam-induced defect formation is controlled by recrystallization processes during dynamic annealing even following low-energy ion implantation.
Related Concept Videos
Recrystallization: Solid–Solution Equilibria
X-ray Crystallography
Diffraction
Diffraction is the change in the direction of travel experienced by an electromagnetic wave when it encounters a physical barrier whose dimensions are comparable to those of the wavelength of the light. X-rays are electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths about as long as the distance between neighboring...
Polymer Classification: Crystallinity
Crystalline domains are the regions where polymer chains are aligned in an orderly manner and held together in proximity by intermolecular forces. For example, chains in the crystalline domains of polyethylene and nylon are bound together by van der Waals...
X-ray Diffraction of Biological Samples
According to Bragg's law, when X-rays strike the sample positioned on a stage, the rays are scattered by the electron clouds around the sample atoms. The X-ray diffraction or scattering is caused by constructive interference of the X-ray waves that reflect off the internal crystal...
Imperfections in Crystal Structure: Point, Line and Plane Defects
Determination of Crystal Structures
