Resource Person

Dr. Muhammad Imran

Assistant Professor
Department of Physics
UoE, Lahore (Vehari Campus)
 The (Common) Phases of Matter

This doesn’t include Plasmas, but

these are the “common” phases!!
“Condensed Matter” includes both of these.
We’ll focus on Solids!
 Crystal Structure
Topics
1. Periodic Arrays of Atoms
2. Fundamental Types of Lattices
3. Index System for Crystal Planes
4. Simple Crystal Structures
5. Direct Imaging of Crystal Structure
6. Non-ideal Crystal Structures
7. Crystal Structure Data
Elementary Crystallography
 The Three General Types of Solids
Single Crystal, Polycrystalline,
Amorphous
• Each type is characterized by the
size of the ordered region within
the material. An ordered region is a
spatial volume in which atoms or
molecules have a regular geometric
arrangement or periodicity.
 Solids
• Crystals: • Amorphous solids:
– Short-range Order – ~Short-range Order
– Long-range Order – No Long-range Order
 Crystals
• The periodic array of atoms, ions, or molecules
that form the solid is called Crystal Structure
Crystal Structure =
Space (Crystal) Lattice + Basis
– Space (Crystal) Lattice is a regular periodic
arrangement of points in space, and is purely
mathematical abstraction
– Crystal Structure is formed by “putting” the
identical atoms (group of atoms) in the points
of the space lattice
– This group of atoms is the Basis
 Crystallography
Crystallography ≡ The branch of science that deals with
the geometric description of crystals & their internal
arrangements. It is the science of crystals & the math used to
describe them. It is a VERY OLD field which pre-dates Solid
State Physics by about a century! So (unfortunately, in some ways)
much of the terminology (& theory notation) of Solid State Physics
originated in crystallography. The purpose of Ch. 1 of Kittel’s
book is mainly to introduce this terminology to you.
 Solid State Physics
Started in the early 20th Century when the fact that
Crystals Can Diffract X-rays
was discovered.
• Around that same time the new theory of
Quantum Mechanics
was being accepted & applied to various
problems. Some of the early problems it was
applied to were the explanation of observed X-
ray diffraction patterns for various crystals &
(later) the behavior of electrons in a crystalline
 Crystalline Periodicity
Crystal Structure ≡ Lattice + Basis
For another example, see the figure.

Crystal Structure
Lattice 

Basis

 Crystal Lattices

Bravais Lattices Non-Bravais Lattices

(BL) (non-BL)

Atoms are of different kinds.

All atoms are the sameSome lattice
Atoms
kind points
are of aren’t
different equivalen
kinds. Som
All lattice points are equivalent
A combination
lattice points areofnot
2 or more BL
equivalent.

2 d examples
 Conventional & Primitive Unit Cells
Unıt Cell Types

Conventional
Primitive (Non-primitive)
A single lattice point per cell
More than one lattice point per c
smallest area in 2 dimensions, orVolume (area) = integer multiple of
smallest volume in 3 dimensions that for primitive cell

Simple Cubic (SC) Body Centered Cubic (BCC)

Conventional Cell = Conventional Cell ≠
Primitive cell Primitive cell
The Wigner-Seitz Method to Construct a Primitive
Cell
• A simple, geometric method to construct a Primitive Cell is
called the Wigner-Seitz Method. The procedure is:
1. Choose a starting lattice point.
2. Draw lines to connect that point
to its nearest neighbours.
3. At the mid-point & normal to
these lines, draw new lines.

4. The volume enclosed is called

a Wigner-Seitz cell. Illustration for the 2D parallelogram
lattice.
 Classification of Crystal Structures
•Crystallographers showed a long time ago that, in
3 dimensions, there are
14 BRAVAIS LATTICES
+ 7 CRYSTAL SYSTEMS
•This results from the fact that, in 3 dimensions, there
are only
7 different shapes of unit cell which can be
stacked together to completely fill all space
without overlapping.
This gives the 7 crystal systems, into which all
crystal structures can be classified. 14
 14 BRAVAIS LATTICES + 7 CRYSTAL SYSTEMS
 Only 7 different shapes of unit cell can be stacked
together to completely fill all space without overlapping.
• This gives 7 crystal systems, into which all crystal structures can
be classified. These systems & subsystems are:
1. Cubic System (SC, BCC, FCC)
2. Hexagonal System (S)
3. Triclinic System (S)
4. Monoclinic System (S, Base-C)
5. Orthorhombic System (S, Base-C, BC, FC)
6. Tetragonal System (S, BC)
7. Trigonal (Rhombohedral) System (S) 15
16
 Coordination Number
• For a Bravais Lattice,
Coordinatıon Number  The number of
lattice points closest to a given point
(number of nearest-neighbors of each point).
• Because of lattice periodicity, all lattice points have
the same number of nearest neighbors or coordination
number. (Coordination number is intrinsic to the lattice.)
Examples
1. Simple Cubic (SC) coordination number = 6
2. Body-Centered Cubic coordination number = 8
3. Face-Centered Cubic coordination number = 12
 Atomic Packing Factor (Packing Fraction)
• For a Bravais Lattice,
The Atomic Packing Factor (APF) 
volume of the atoms within the unit cell divided by the
volume of the unit cell.

• When calculating the APF, the volume of the atoms in the

unit cell is calculated AS IF each atom was a hard
sphere, centered on the lattice point & large enough to
just touch the nearest-neighbor sphere.
• Of course, from Quantum Mechanics, we know that this
is very unrealistic for any atom!!
 1- CUBIC CRYSTAL SYSTEMS
3 Common Unit Cells with Cubic Symmetry

Simple Cubic Body Centered Face Centered

(SC) Cubic (BCC) Cubic (FCC)
3 Common Unit Cells with Cubic Symmetry
 a- Simple Cubic (SC) Lattice
• The SC Lattice has one lattice point in its unit cell, so
it’s unit cell is a primitive cell.
• In the unit cell on the left, the atoms at the corners are cut
because only a portion (in this case 1/8) “belongs” to that
cell. The rest of the atom “belongs” to neighboring cells.
Coordinatination Number of the SC Lattice = 6.

b c

a
Simple Cubic (SC) Lattice
Atomic Packing Factor
 b- Body Centered Cubic (BCC) Lattice
• The BCC Lattice has two lattice
points per unit cell so the BCC
unit cell is a non-primitive cell.
• Every BCC lattice point has 8
nearest- neighbors. So (in the hard
sphere model) each atom is in contact
with its neighbors only along the body-
diagonal directions.
• Many metals (Fe,Li,Na..etc),
including the alkalis and several
transition elements have the
BCC structure.
23
Body Centered Cubic (BCC) Structure
Body Centered Cubic (BCC) Lattice
Atomic Packing Factor

2 (0.433a)

25
Elements That Form Solids
with the BCC Structure
c- Face Centered Cubic (FCC) Lattice
• In the FCC Lattice there are atoms at the corners of the
unit cell and at the center of each face.
• The FCC unit cell has 4 atoms so it is a non-primitive cell.
• Every FCC Lattice point has 12 nearest-neighbors.
• Many common metals (Cu,Ni,Pb..etc) crystallize in
the FCC structure.
Face Centered Cubic (FCC) Structure
Face Centered Cubic (FCC) Lattice
Atomic Packing Factor

4 (0.353a)

0.74
FCC

29
Elements That Form Solids
with the FCC Structure
 FCC & BCC:
Conventional Cells With a Basis
• Alternatively, the FCC Lattice can
be viewed in terms of a Conventional
Unit Cell with a 4-point basis.
• Similarly, the BCC lattice can be
viewed in terms of a Conventional
Unit Cell with a 2- point basis.
Comparison of the 3 Cubic Lattice Systems
Unit Cell Contents
Counting the number of atoms within the unit cell
Atom Position Shared Between Each atom counts:
corner 8 cells 1/8
face center 2 cells 1/2
body center 1 cell 1
edge center 2 cells 1/2

Lattice Type Atoms per Cell

P (Primitive) 1 [= 8  1/8]
I (Body Centered) 2 [= (8  1/8) + (1  1)]
F (Face Centered) 4 [= (8  1/8) + (6  1/2)]
C (Side Centered) 2 [= (8  1/8) + (2  1/2)]
Example: Atomic Packing Factor
 2- HEXAGONAL CRYSTAL SYSTEMS
• In a Hexagonal Crystal System, three equal
coplanar axes intersect at an angle of 60°,
and another axis is perpendicular to the
others and of a different length.

The atoms are all the same.

Simple Hexagonal Bravais Lattice
Hexagonal Close Packed (HCP) Lattice
 Hexagonal Close Packed
(HCP) Lattice

• This is another structure that

is common, particularly in
metals. In addition to the two
layers of atoms which form
the base and the upper face of
the hexagon, there is also an
intervening layer of atoms
arranged such that each of
these atoms rest over a
depression between three
atoms in the base.
 Hexagonal Close Packed
(HCP) Lattice

The HCP lattice is not a Bravais lattice, because orientation of the

environment of a point varies from layer to layer along the c-axis.
 Hexagonal Close Packed (HCP) Lattice
Bravais Lattice: a=b
Hexagonal Lattice Angle between a & b = 120°
He, Be, Mg, Hf, Re c = 1.633a,
(Group II elements)
Basis: (0,0,0) (2/3a ,1/3a,1/2c)
ABABAB Type of
Stacking
 Comments on Close Packing
Close Packed

B B B B
C C C
B B B
C C C C
B B
C
B
C
B Sequence ABCABCAB:
C
Face Centered Cubic
Sequence ABABAB: Close Packed
Hexagonal Close Packed

Sequence ABAB: Sequence AAA:

Body Centered Cubic Simple Cubic
Hexagonal Close Packing
 HCP Lattice 
Hexagonal Bravais Lattice with a 2 Atom Basis
Comments on Close Packing
Close-Packed Structures

ABCABC… → fcc
ABABAB… → hcp
 3 - TRICLINIC & 4 – MONOCLINIC
CRYSTAL SYSTEMS
• Triclinic crystals have the least symmetry of any crystal
systems. The three axes are each different lengths & none
are perpendicular to each other. These materials are the
most difficult to recognize.

Monoclinic
(Base Centered)
Triclinic (Simple) Monoclinic (Simple)  =  = 90o, ß 90o
ß  90O a b c
 =  = 90o, ß 90o
a b c a b c
5 - ORTHORHOMBIC CRYSTAL SYSTEM
Orthorhombic Orthorhombic
(Simple) (Body Centered)
 = ß =  = 90o  = ß =  = 90o
a b c a b c

Orthorhombic Orthorhombic
(Base Centered) (Face Centered)
 = ß =  = 90o
a b c  = ß =  = 90o
a b c
6 – TETRAGONAL CRYSTAL SYSTEM

Tetragonal
Tetragonal (Body Centered)
(P)
 = ß =  = 90o  = ß =  = 90o 50

a = b c
7 - RHOMBOHEDRAL (R) OR TRIGONAL
CRYSTAL SYSTEM

Rhombohedral (R) or
Trigonal (S)
a = b = c,  = ß = 90o
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