Computer simulation studies have been made to investigate the static properties of mono-, di- and tri-vacancy clusters and of self-interstitials in hcp magnesium in different configurations. Three interatomic potentials have been chosen for which the results have been compared. A crystallite containing about 1500 atoms and a model with the interatomic interaction extending upto the fourth neighbour distance have been used. Relaxation field, defect relaxation and formation energies, strength dipole tensors and relative changes in volume in the above defects have been computed and our final results compared with those of earlier workers. The formation energies of the defects are highly sensitive to the choice of the potential whose detailed structure guides the nature of relaxation and the dipole tensors. Calculations have been done for octahedral, tetrahedral and dumb-bell interstitials of which the last is found to be the most stable.

There have been interesting observations about ordering of microstructures during irradiation. The formation of void lattices is amongst the better known examples. Ordering has also been observed in small gas filled bubbles formed during low energy light ion implantation in the energy range 30–100 keV.

The basic underlying mechanism for ordering of gas bubbles has not been clearly understood so far. We identify in this paper a basic instability in the growth kinetics of such bubbles which can develop during irradiation. This instability is shown to be associated with the interstitial production due to the high pressure inside these bubbles and their differential bias due to the strain field interactions with vacancies and interstitials. It is shown that such an instability leads to a selection of a wavelength scale which agrees with the observed lattice parameter.

Results of neutron counting experiments during deuterium implantation into titanium and copper are reported. Models for neutron yield have been developed by taking into account different solid state effects like energy degradation of incident ions, energy dependent d-d fusion cross section and diffusion of implanted deuterium possibly influenced by surface desorption and formation of metal deuterides. The asymptotic time dependence of the neutron yield during implantation has been compared with the experimental results. Using these results, solid state processes that might occur during deuterium implantation into these metals are inferred.