A BCA-model for displacement damage calculations in polyatomic ionic materials

Damage parameters as defined in the frame of the dpa-concept are commonly used to quantify radiation exposure to solid materials. Calculations of such parameters in light mass and polyatomic ionic materials suffer severely from limitations of the well-established NRT–Lindhard model, which are due to restrictions of the underlying physics and insufficiencies of the modelling. To overcome these drawbacks a binary collision approximation (BCA)-model appropriate for this class of materials has been developed and implemented into the code M. The main issue to be solved was the treatment of ionic compounds and its implications. The influence of the improved BCA-model on damage production and damage characteristics is demonstrated by simulating collision cascades in lithiumtitanate Li₂TiO₃, a candidate tritium breeder in fusion reactor blankets.