Solid State Physics

Branch of condensed matter physics dealing with properties of solids especially crystals

Atomic packing factor:

Classifications of solids: 1. Crystals 2. Amorphous

Counting for some unit cells: Vertex = 1/8 atom Edge = atom Face = atom Body = 1 atom 1. Simple Cubic Structure (SC) - Close packed directions are cube edges - Coordination # = 6 (# of nearest neighbors) - # of atoms: = (1/8*8) = 2

Descriptions of over-all structure: 1. Lattice - Regular arrangement of mathematical points in 3D described by the unit of repetition of the crystal - Lattice constant distance between two lattice points 2. Basis - The arrangement of atoms at each lattice point - Could range from atom to large molecules 3. Unit cell - Three dimensional cell constructed from adjacent lattice points that best describes the crystal structure - Building block of a crystalline structure - Repeats itself to form the lattice

2. Body Centered Cubic Structure (BCC) - Closed pack directions are cube diagonals - Coordination # = 8 - # of atoms = (1/8*8 + 1) = 2

Metallic Crystals - Tend to be densely packed - Made of heavy elements - Bonding is not directional - Neighbor distances tend to be small in order to lower bond energy

Examples: 1: Using the hard sphere model, find the length a of the unit BCC cell. Assume radius of the atom is R.

2. Determine the maximum radius of the sphere B which can be placed into a BCC structure without affecting the position of the other spheres. (Ans: 0.155A)

2. Determine the maximum radius of the sphere B which can be placed into an FCC structure without affecting the position of the other spheres. Assume the radii of sphere A is A and radius of B is B. (Ans: 0.41A)

3. Determine the actual volume occupied by the spheres in an BCC structure as % of total volume. This is called packing density or atomic packing factor. (Ans: 0.68). Find also the coordination number .(8)

3. Determine the actual volume occupied by the spheres in an FCC structure as % of total volume. This is called packing density or atomic packing factor. (Ans: 0.74)

3. Face centered cubic structure (FCC) - Close packed directions are face diagonals - Coordination # = 12 - # of atoms = (1/8*8 + 1/2*4 + 1) = 4

4. Hexagonal closed packed - Formed by two hexagons and one atom at the center of the hexagons - The hexagons are separated by three atoms fitting into the sites - # of atoms = 6 - Coordination # = 12

A site

B site

A site

1: Using the hard sphere model, find the length a of the unit cell of an FCC structure. Assume radius of the atom is R.

Theoretical density:

- atom is transferred from a lattice site to an interstitial position

n = number of atoms/unit cell Vc = volume/unit cell (cm^3/unit cell) A = atomic weight (g/mol) Na = Avogadros number (6.023x10^23 atoms/mol) Example 1: Compute the theoretical density of copper based on the following information.

n = number of vacancies N = total number of atoms Ev = enthalpy of formation T = temp in K Kb = Boltzmann Constant (1.38x10^-23 J/atomK OR 8.62x10^-5eV/atomK) Example: Suppose that the energy required to remove a sodium atom from the inside of a sodium crystal to the boundary is 1 eV. Calculate the concentration of Schottky vacancies at 300K.

Crystal structures: Polymorphism - Same compound occurring in more than one crystal (example: silica) Allotropy - Polymorphism in elemental solids (e.g. carbon) Defects A. Point defects 1. Vacancy unoccupied lattice point 2. Interstitial extra atom not in regular lattice position 3. Substitutional occupancy of a lattice point by impurity 4. Antisite a host atom occupies position of another host atom Types of vacancy: 1.A. Schottky Defect - an atom transfers from a lattice site in the interior to a lattice site on the surface of a crystal 1.B. Frenkel Defect

Schottky defect in ionic crystals:

Frenkel defect:

B. Line defects - dislocations 1. Edge dislocation an extra plane of atoms squeezed into a part of the crystal lattice 2. Screw dislocation a step or ramp is formed by the displacement of the atoms in a plane in the crystal 3. Stacking fault a change in the stacking sequence over a few atomic spacings 4. Twin region a change over many atomic spacings

1. Grain boundary separate regions of different crystalline orientation 2. Tilt boundary array of edge dislocations 3. Twin boundary mirror of each other C. Volume defects 1. Void 1.A Porosity air bubbles trapped 1.B Cavitation shrinkage of a material 1.C Precipitates impurity atoms cluster together to form small regions of a different phase Diffraction Bragg equation:

d = interplanar spacing d= sqrt(h^2+k^2+l^2)