[en] We present here the results of our recent irradiations of polycrystalline iron targets with very energetic (1.76 GeV) Ar ions. The targets consist of piles of thin iron samples, the total thickness of each target being somewhat greater than the theoretical range (450 μm) of the ions. We can thus separate the phenomena which occur at different average energies of the ions and study during the slowing-down process: the different types of induced nuclear reactions. They allow us to determine the experimental range of the ions, the defect profiles in the targets, the structure of the displacement cascades (electron microscopy) and their stability