SUMMARYMonocrystalline {111} Si and Ge specimens have been irradiated with atomic and molecular heavy ions in order to study the influence of the cascade energy density and the interaction between displacement cascades on the defect production. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) studies were performed to investigate the defect parameters. After atomic irradiation of Si and Ge the defects analysed (typical size 3–5 nm) are of interstitial type. Both defects with three‐dimensional strain centres and defects with a strongly asymmetric strain field were observed. An analysis of the yield and the defect size in Si as a function of ion dose suggests that the defects are formed within individual cascades rather than by a process involving overlapping cascades. Changes of the energy density locally deposited in the lattice do not affect yield and size significantly. Under otherwise similar experimental conditions, the average defect depth is significantly larger for Bi2+ irradiations than for Bi+ irradiati