linear collision cascade [`lin·ē·ǝr kǝ`lizh·ǝn ´kas´kād] SOLID-STATE PHYSICS A sputtering event in which the bombarding projectile collides directly with a small number of target atoms, which collide with others, and the sharing of energy then proceeds through many generations before one or more target atoms are ejected; the density of atoms in motion remains sufficiently small so that collisions between atoms can be ignored. |