In this paper, we show a way to control cobalt disilicide precipitation during Co ion implantation at high temperatures (650 °C) by affecting radiation defects involved in precipitate nucleation and growth. We demonstrate that the relative shares of different precipitate types nucleated by implantation are strongly affected by defect microstructures deliberately created in investigated samples prior to cobalt implantation. Especially interesting is the effect of a dense ensemble of extremely small (1-3 nm) cavities, which promotes the formation of a relatively uniform layer of coherent cobalt disilicide precipitates with a narrow size distribution. In order to better understand the mechanism of the microstructural influence on the precipitate nucleation modes during Co implantation, we investigate the disilicide precipitation using different implantation setups and compare the results with those for cavity-free Si specimens implanted in similar conditions. © 2012 American Institute of Physics