Defects in Crystals

Slides are formed from many small crystals. However during the process of crystallization, the defects in solid
occurs due to the fast or moderate rate formations of crystals. Defects in general are defined as those in which
there will be irregularities in the arrangements of the constituent particles. On the basis of irregular
arrangement, the defect may be or defect.

Defect

Crystal defect is defined as the imperfection in the regular geometrical arrangements of atoms in the crystalline solid.
These imperfections results from deformation of solid, rapid cooling from the high temperature, high energy radiation.
 Stoichiometric Defects

Non-Stoichiometric Defects

Impurity Defects
 Stoichiometric Defects

The defect on which Stoichiometry of the compound remains the same as shown by their chemical formula.
(Number of cation= number of anion)

Non-ionic Solid Ionic Solid

Interstitial Defect: Schottky Defect: Frenkel Defect:

Vacancy Defect: Constituents particles Occurs due to missing Some cations are missing
Vacant site in the lattice move t interstitial site the same number of from their lattice site and
of the lattice cations and anions occupy the interstitial site
 Impurity Defects

foreign atoms that replace some of the atoms making up the

solid or that squeeze into the interstices
 Point Defect
The imperfections of solids along with the types of point defects.
Crystalline solids are formed by joining many small crystals. Different types of defects are found in crystals
after the process of crystallization.
Point defects are accented for when the crystallization process occurs at very fast rate.
These defects mainly happen due to deviation in the arrangement of constituting particles.
Defects in crystalline solid can be divided into four groups: Line defects, Point defects, Volume defects and
Surface defects.

Stoichiometric Defect

Point Defects
are of three Frenkel Defect
types:

Schottky Defect
 Non-Stoichiometric Defect

Non- The solids have less number

Stoichiometric of metals relative to their
Defect described Stoichiometric
proportion

This occurs due to

There are two types
Metal Excess of metal excess
Defect defects: Anionic
vacancies and
Cationic vacancies
the absence of
anions from their
original site in the
crystal. Electrons
occupy their
position.
Occurs due to the
presence of extra
cations at the
interstitial sites:
heating the
compound
 Dislocations
Dislocations are line defects that exist in metals. A dislocation is a crystallographic defect or irregularity
and a crystal structure. Dislocations generated and move when a stress is applied. The motion of
dislocations allows slip-plastic deformation to occur.
There are two types of dislocations: edge and Screw.
High dislocation density results in a large number of dislocation interactions, which results in high
strength and hardness.
Metals are strengthened by making it more difficult for dislocations to move.
Dislocations can cause grain boundary corrosion in metals.
 Edge Dislocation

Edge dislocation is a defect where an extra half-plane is introduced mid way through the crystal, distorting nearby
planes of atoms.
When enough force is applied from one side of the crystal structure, this extra plane passes through planes of atoms
breaking and joining bonds with them it reaches the grain boundary.

Edge dislocation arise when there is a slight mismatch in the orientation of adjacent parts of the growing crystal
resulting in the introduction of an extra row of atoms. The edge of the atomic plane terminates within the crystal
instead of passing all the way through.
 Screw Dislocations

This screw dislocation is slightly more difficult to visualize. The motion of a crew dislocation is also a result
of shear stress but the defect line movement is perpendicular to the direction of the stress and the atom
displacement, rather than parallel.

The formation of screw dislocation can be visualized by cutting the rubber stopper parallel to its axis and then
pushing on one end so that a jog is created on the end. If initially the stopper contained atoms at regular
lattice points, deformation would convert the parallel planes of atoms normal to the axis into a kind spiral
ramp.
Such a displacement of the atoms constitutes what is known as screw dislocation.
 Burger’s Vector

The Burger’s vector of a dislocation is a crystal vector, specified by Miller indices, that quantifies the
difference between distorted lattice around the dislocation and the perfect lattice. Equivalently, the
Burger’s vector denotes the direction and magnitude of the atomic displacement that occurs when a
dislocation moves.

Diffusions in Metals

Diffusion can be thought of as the rearrangement of the atoms inside the crystal (lattice) structure of
the metal. It is controlled by the rate at which these atoms change position and increases exponentially
when temperature is applied.
 Difference between Edge dislocation and Screw
dislocation:

An edge dislocation lies perpendicular to A screw dislocation lies parallel to its

its Burger’s vector Burger vector

An edge dislocation moves in the A screw dislocation moves in a direction

direction of the Burger’s vector perpendicular to the Burger’s vector

In the screw dislocations the distortion

An edge dislocation involves an extra follow a helical or screw path and both
row of atoms either above or below the right hand and left hand senses are
slip plane possible

The edge dislocation is particularly Screw dislocation is especially useful in

useful in explaining slip in the plastic crystal growth as well as slip in plastic
flow during mechanical working deformation
 Diffusion of Metals in Solid

Diffusion can be thought of as rearrangement of the atoms inside the

crystal structure of the metal. Diffusion is controlled by the rate at
which these atoms change position and increases exponentially when
temperature is applied.
“It is migration of atoms from lattice site to lattice site.”

Vacancy Diffusion
Two types of
Diffusion Mechanism
occurs in crystal. Interstitial Diffusion
 Vacancy Diffusion

Vacancy diffusion is the predominant diffusion mechanism in atoms due to the low energy
required to move atoms into atomic vacancies that form during heating.
The vacancy diffusion process occurs when an atom on a normal lattice site jumps into an
adjacent unoccupied site. It turns out that only adjacent atoms move into a vacancy.

In case of vacancy diffusions, every solid has vacant site. When the solid heated then the atom inside the
solid excite and try to move towards the vacant site. When the atom moves to the vacant site then
another vacant site is form in the place of moving atom. So, the vacancy continuously moves inside the
crystal structure with moving of atoms inside the crystal.
 Interstitial Diffusion

This diffusion occurs if a solute atom is sufficiently small and moves to a position between
larger solvent atoms in an energy favorable configuration. In this lattice diffusion, a availability,
will diffuse in between the lattice structure of another crystalline element. In substitutional
lattice diffusion, the atom can only move by substitution place with another atom.
Substitutional lattice diffusion is often contingent upon the availability of point vacancies
throughout the crystal lattices. Diffusing particles migrate from point vacancy to point vacancy
by the rapid, essentially random jumping about. In that case, atoms moves from an interstitial
position to another interstitial site nearly.
 Difference between Vacancy Diffusion &
Interstitial Diffusion:

In vacancy diffusion, an atom leaves its lattice site

In interstitial diffusion, a small interstitial atom or ion moves
and fills the nearby vacancy thereby creating a new
from one interstitial site to another interstitial site.
vacancy at the original lattice site.

The atoms and vacancies move in counter clockwise

No need of vacancies for this diffusion to occur.
directions as diffusion progress.

Temperature plays an important role for the rate of

The rate of diffusion increases as the temperature increases.
self diffusion.

Self-diffusion is atomic migrated in pure metals. It is the diffusion of atoms of one metal into another metal

Diffusion process is slower than vacancy diffusion. It occurs much more rapidly than by vacancy mode.
 Plane Defects
It is the discontinuity of the perfect crystal structure across a plane.
Interfacial defects are boundaries that have two dimensions and normally separate regions of the materials that have
different crystal structures crystallographic orientations. These defects exist at an angle between two faces of a crystal
or crystal form. These imperfections are found at free surfaces, grain boundaries, interphase boundaries etc.
 Grain Boundaries

The atoms in the grain boundary will not be perfect

crystalline arrangement. Here the dislocation occurs.
It is a plane defect that separate regions of different
Grain boundaries are usually the result of uneven
crystalline orientation within a polycrystal solid.
growth when the solid is crystallizing. Grain size vary
from 1μm to 1mm.
 Crystal Grains

• Solids are consist of a number of crystallites or grains of varying size and orientations. When a metal starts with
crystallization, the phase change starts with small crystals that grow until they fuse, forming a polycrystalline
structure.
• In the final block of solid materials, each of the small crystals is a true crystals with a periodic arrangement of atoms,
but the whole polycrystal does not have a periodic arrangement of atoms, because the periodic pattern is broken at
the grain boundaries. Grain and grain boundaries help determine the properties of a material. Grains can range in size
from nanometers to millimeters across and their orientations are usually rotated with respect to neighboring brains.
Where one grain stops and another begins is known as grain boundary.
• Grain boundaries limit the lengths and motions of dislocations. Having smaller grains strengthens a materials. The size
of the grains can controlled by cooling rate. Rapid cooling produce larger grains, slow cooling produce smaller grains.
 Grain Boundaries Energy

Grain boundaries are defects that have an excess free energy per unit area. This is evident by fact that during
most thermal and chemical etching processes, material near the grain boundary is preferentially removed.
In case of grain boundaries energy, we first creating two free surface and joining them to form the boundary. The
energy to create two surfaces will be twice the surface energy 2γs.
However the grain boundary energy will be less than this because of the binding energy gained when two
surfaces brought together and new bonds are formed. The grain boundaries then: γgb = 2 γs - B