Crystals – 2 1

CRYSTAL STRUCTURES – Contd.

9. Diamond and Zinc Blende Crystals

ƒ The space lattice of diamond is FCC.

ƒ The basis has two identical atoms at (0,0,0) and C
(¼, ¼ , ¼) associated with each lattice point.
ƒ The tetrahedral (directional) covalent bonding
characteristic of the constituent atoms is
responsible for the structure. Ex.: C, Si, Ge etc. a
ƒ Each atom has 4 nearest neighbors and
12 next nearest neighbors.
ƒ The diamond structure is relatively empty. a
Only 34% filled. a

S Zinc blende – basis with two non-identical

atoms in the diamond lattice. Ex.: ZnS, GaAs
a etc.
Zn
a
a

(EEE, AIUB)
Crystals – 2 2

10. Crystal Planes, Direction, and Miller Indices

A set of three integers is used to describe the position of a plane or the direction of a vector
within the lattice.

Q: Why it is important to know the directions and planes in the crystal?

A: Many properties, such as, the elastic modulus, electrical resistivity, magnetic
susceptibility, etc., are directional within the crystal and some processes such as oxidation,
etching etc. exhibit crystal plane dependency.

The integers are found in the following way:

For Crystal Planes

1. Find the intercepts of the plane with the crystal axes and express these intercepts as
integral multiples of the basis vectors (the plane can be moved in and out from the
origin, retaining its orientation, until such an integral intercept is discovered on each
axis)
2. Take the reciprocals of the three integers found in step 1 and reduce these to the
smallest set of integers h, k, and l, which have the same relationship to each other as
the three reciprocals.
3. Label the plane (hkl).

Example 1
z

z intercept at 1c (214)

c b y intercept at 4b
y
a

x intercept at 2a
x
The plane has intercepts at 2a, 4b, and 1c along the three crystal axes.
Taking reciprocals of these intercepts, we get ½. ¼, and 1.
These three fractions have the same relationship to each other as the integers 2, 1, and
4 (obtained by multiplying each fraction by 4).
Thus the plane is (214).

h, k, and l are called the Miller indices. → define a set of parallel planes

ƒ Reciprocals of the intercepts avoid infinities in the notation.

ƒ Intercept is infinity for a plane parallel to an axis → sign is reciprocal of such an
intercept is zero.
ƒ If a plane passes through the origin, it can be translated to a parallel position – integer
multiple unit distance away – for calculation of Miller indices.
ƒ If an intercept occurs on the negative branch of an axis, the minus placed above the
Miller index for that particular axis → (hkl)

(EEE, AIUB)
Crystals – 2 3

Example 2
z
b
z intercept at ∝ Miller Indices (hkl)
1 1 1 (210)
c 1 1 ∞
2
x intercept at a/2
y
a y intercept at b
x
Certain planes in the crystal belong to a family of (equivalent) planes because their indices
differ only as a consequence of the arbitrary choice of axis label. (100) becomes (010) if x
and y axes are switched. All the (100), (010), (001), (100), (010), and (001) planes from a
family of planes denoted by {100}.

z
(001)

(010)

y
x (100)

For Crystal Direction

A direction in a lattice is expressed as a set of three integers with the same relationship as the
components of a vector in that direction.

The three vector components are expressed in multiples of the basis vectors, and the three
integers are reduced to their smallest values while retaining the relationship among them.

[111]
Example
Body diagonal in the cubic lattice is 1a, 1b, and 1c;
therefore, the diagonal is the [111] direction.

[001]
As in the case of planes, many directions in a
lattice are equivalent and differ only due to the
arbitrary choice of orientation of the axes.
[010] Equivalent directions are placed in angular
brackets 〈 〉. [100], [010], and [100] are
equivalent and are called 〈100〉 directions.
[100]

(EEE, AIUB)