Defects in crystals

• The structure of real crystals differs from that of ideal ones.

• Real crystals always have certain defects, and therefore, the arrangement of atoms in the
volume of a crystal is far from being perfectly regular.
• It is distinguished between point, linear, surface and volume defects.
 The dimensions of a point defect are close to those of an inter-atomic space. With linear
defects, their length is several orders of magnitude greater than the width.
 Surface defects have a small depth, while their width and length may be several orders larger.
Volume defects (pores and cracks) may have substantial dimensions in all measurements
Types of defects
• Point defects:
 The simplest point defects are vacancies, interstitial atoms of the base substance (interstitials),
and foreign interstitial atoms
 Point defects are defects that occur only at or around a single lattice point.
 They are not extended in space in any dimension.
Strict limits for how small a point defect is, are generally not defined explicitly, but typically
these defects involve at most a few extra or

Schematic illustration of some simple point defect types of monatomic solid

Point defects in a crystal lattice: a – Vacancy; b – Interstitial atom; c – Interstitial impurity atom
• Vacancy defects are lattice sites which would be occupied in a perfect crystal, but are vacant.
• If a neighboring atom moves to occupy the vacant site, the vacancy moves in the opposite
direction to the site which used to be occupied by the moving atom.
• A vacancy is an empty (interstitials), site of a crystal lattice; an interstitial atom is an atom
transferred from site into an interstitial position.
• Vacancies and interstitial atoms can appear in crystals at any temperature above the absolute
zero owing to thermal oscillations of atoms.
• At higher temperature, vacancies have a higher concentration and can move from one site to
another more frequently.
• Vacancies are the most important kind of point defects; they accelerate all processes associated
with displacement of atoms: diffusion, powder sintering, etc.
 All kind of point defects distort the crystal lattice and have a certain influence on the physical
properties.
 CLASS-WORK
DESCUSS ON IT AND GIVE YOUR TANGABLE EXAMPLES
Linear defects
• The most important kinds of linear defects are edge and screw dislocations.
• An edge dislocation in its cross-section is essentially the edge of an ‘extra’ half-plane in the
crystal lattice
• The lattice around dislocations is elastically distorted.
• The screw dislocation corresponds to a partial tearing of the planes, much as stack of papers
might be torn.
• Most dislocations are combinations of both types.
•

Schemes of a- Edge dislocation and b- Screw dislocation

 In semiconductors, dislocation can influence the electric and other properties, in particular,
decrease electric resistance and shorten the life of carriers.
 The role of dislocation is especially important in microelectronics where the film-like crystals
are used and dislocations can play the part of narrow conducting channels through which
impurity atoms can move easily.
 Surface defect
 The most important kinds of surface defects are high-angle and low angle boundaries, stacking
faults, and twin boundaries.
 High angles boundaries the boundaries between grains, since corresponding crystallographic
directions in adjacent grains make angles of tens of degrees with one another.
 Each grain in turn consists of sub grains or blocks.

Schemes of (a) high –angle and (b) low angle boundaries

• A sub grain is a portion of a crystal of a relatively regular structure.

• Sub grain boundaries are formed by walls of dislocations which divide a grain into a number of
sub grains or blocks.
• Angle of disorientation between adjacent sub grains are not large (not more than 5o), so that
their boundaries are termed ‘low-angle’.
• Low angle boundaries also serve as places of accumulation of impurities.
N.B!
Surface defects influence the mechanical and physical properties of materials.

Crystal-defects