DRAFT

Crystal Imperfection
A perfect crystal, with every atom of the same type in the correct position, does not exist. The
arrangement of the atoms or ions in an engineered material contains imperfections or defects. There
always exist crystalline defects, which can be point defects occurring at a single lattice point; line defects
occurring along a row of atoms; or planar defects occurring over a two-dimensional surface in the
crystal. There can also be three-dimensional defects such as voids. These imperfections only represent
defects in or deviations from the ideal atomic or ionic arrangements expected in given crystal
structure, were not considered defective from an application viewpoint, and defects known as
dislocations are useful in increasing the strength of metals and alloys.
The crystallographic defects are classified as follows:
Point defects are imperfect point like regions in a crystal. The typical size of a point defect is one
or two atomic diameters. The point defects may be created, by thermal fluctuations, by quenching (quick
cooling) from a higher temperature, by severe deformation of the crystal lattice.
The various point defects are discussed below:

1. Vacancy- A vacancy is the simplest point defect and involves a missing atom within a metal.
These detects may come up because of imperfect packing during the original crystallization.

2. Schottky Imperfections -These are closely related to vacancies but are found in compounds
which must maintain a charge balance. They involve vacancies of pair of ions of opposite
charges. This type is dominant in alkali halides.

3. Interstitialcy -It is the addition of an extra atom within a crystal structure particularly if the
atomic packing factor is low. This results in atomic distortion. The foreign atom may form added
alloying agent or simply an impurity. The vacancy and interstitialcy are therefore, inverse
phenomena.

4. Frenkel Defect-An ion dislodged from the lattice into an interstitial site is called Frenkel
defect. The interstitialicies and Frenkel defects are less in number than vacancies and Schottky
defects because additional energy is required to force the atom into the new position.

5. Compositional Defects-These defects arise from impurity atom during original crystallization.
Impurity atoms considered as defects in a perfect lattice are responsible for the functioning of
most semiconductor devices. They occur on a lattice point as a substitutional impurity or as
interstitial impurity and the resulting phase is known solid solution.

6. Electronic Defects-Electronic detects are the errors in charge distribution in solids. The so-
called electronic imperfections are primarily necessary to explain electrical conductivity and
related phenomenon in solids.
Line Defects
When defect in crystal is centered around a line or the lattice distortion is centered around a line then the
type of defect generated is called line defect. Few reasons of formation of line defects are solidification of
solid crystal, plastic deformation of crystals and vacancy condensation.

Types of line defects / Line imperfections:

Edge dislocation
When defect in a crystal occurs due to absence of extra half plane of atoms or presence of half plane of
atoms then this type of line defect is called edge dislocation or edge imperfection.
Edge defect causes the nearby lattice structure to distort towards or away from the dislocation line. The
displacement distance of atoms around the dislocation line is called Burger’s vector and is perpendicular
to edge dislocation line.
Dislocations are non-equilibrium defects and store energy in the distorted region of the crystal lattice
around the dislocation.

Edge dislocation has a region of compressive strain where the extra-half of plane is present and a region
of tensile strain below the extra half plane of atoms.

Screw dislocation
Screw dislocation can be formed in a crystal structure by applying upward and downward shear stress to
regions of a perfect crystal which have been separated by a cutting plane. In screw dislocation plane of
the crystal lattice trace a helical path around the dislocation line.
The burgers vector of screw dislocation is parallel to the dislocation line and when stress is applied on
crystal having this defect then the dislocation area moves perpendicular to the direction of stress.

Surface defects are boundaries that have two dimensions, and normally separate regions of the materials
that have different crystal structures and/or crystallographic orientations. These imperfections include:
External surfaces - The exterior dimensions of the material represent surfaces at which the lattice abruptly
ends. The exterior surface may also be very rough, may contain tiny notches, and may be much more
reactive than the bulk of the material.
Grain boundaries - The orientation of the atomic arrangement, or crystalline structure, is different for each
adjoining grain. The atoms are so close at some locations in the grain boundary that they cause a region of
compression, and in other areas they are so far apart that they cause a region of tension.
Stacking faults - These occur in face centered cubic (FCC) metals and represent an error in the stacking
sequence of close-packed planes. Stacking faults interfere with the slip process.
Twin boundaries - A twin boundary is a special type of grain boundary across which there is a specific
mirror lattice symmetry. Twin boundaries interfere with the slip process and increase the strength of a
metal. The movement of twin boundaries can also cause a metal to deform.
Tilt boundary - Tilt boundary is a series of aligned dislocations which tend to anchor dislocation
movements normally contributing to plastic deformation. Little energy is associated with this type of
boundary.

Volume Defects or Three-Dimensional Defects:

Pores, cracks, foreign inclusions, and other phases are examples of volume (or bulk) defects.
When there is only minor electrostatic dissimilarity between the stacking sequences of closed-packed
planes in metals, cracks can form. A large vacancy or void is obtained when cluster of atoms is missing.
Inclusions are regions of the crystal that are occupied by a phase other than that of the host crystal. Most
known inclusions form during crystallization. During the processing and fabrication steps, bulk or volume
defects are typically introduced.
Crystal Structures for Metallic Elements
Materials are made up of a wide variety of atomic structures. However, metals almost always have their
atoms organized in a crystalline lattice structure. This means that the atoms of metals are arranged in a
patterned, three-dimensional way that repeats itself throughout large portions of the metal. Within the
crystalline structure group there are a range of subgroups that organize the shape of these crystalline
structures. The three most common crystalline structures in metal are face-centered cubic, body-centered
cubic and hexagonal close-packed.

Face-centered Cubic
One of the most common crystalline structures is face-centered cubic (FCC). The FCC crystalline
structure gets its name from its cube shape and the locations of the atoms within that cube. There are eight
atoms that are distributed among the eight corners of the crystalline structure. Each of those eight atoms
are part of other adjacent cubic structures as well. In addition to the atoms located on the corners of the
FCC structure, there are also six atoms located on the center of each cube face, hence the name face-
centered cubic.
There are many different types of metal with the FCC crystalline structure. The two examples in the
introduction, aluminum and lead, are two metals that have the FCC structure at room temperature. Nickel
and precious metals such as gold, platinum and silver have the FCC crystalline structure as well. Iron
does not have the FCC crystalline structure at room temperature, but when heated to a certain
temperature, the typical ferrite body-centered cubic found in iron begins to transform to austenite, which
does have an FCC crystalline structure. Adding certain alloying elements (e.g., nickel) to steel allows for
steel to be austenitic, and therefore FCC, at room temperature. An example of this is austenitic stainless
steel. (Learn more in the article An Introduction to Stainless Steels.)

Body-centered Cubic
The body-centered cubic (BCC) crystalline structure is another abundant type of atomic structure found in
metals. Like the FCC crystalline structure, the BCC crystalline structure gets its name from its shape. The
BCC crystalline structure is in the form of a cube with eight atoms distributed among the eight corners
like the FCC crystalline structure. What is different about the BCC crystalline structure is that rather than
having an atom at each of the six faces, it has only one atom that is inside the cube. This atom is centered
in the body of the cube, which is the reason for the name body-centered cubic.
Many metals are comprised of the BCC crystalline structure. As previously mentioned, iron in its ferrite
form is a member of the BCC family of metals. Also falling under the BCC crystalline structure umbrella
at room temperature are niobium, chromium, and vanadium. Potassium, sodium, lithium, and other
alkaline metals are also typically constructed by the BCC crystalline structure.

Metals with the BCC crystalline structure typically have less strength than metals with the FCC and HCP
crystalline structures at room temperature.

Hexagonal Close-Packed
Hexagonal close-packed (HCP) is a crystalline structure that is somewhat more complex than the FCC
and BCC crystalline structures. If one hexagonal close-packed structure were separated from other
hexagonal close-packed structures adjacent to it, it would be comprised of 17 atoms. There are six atoms
spread evenly among each vertex of a hexagon. An additional six atoms are distributed equally across the
vertices of another hexagon. Additionally, there is an atom in the center of each of these hexagons. Both
groups of atoms in the hexagons are aligned with one another. Sandwiched, or packed, in between these
two hexagons is a group of three atoms that are not in line with the atoms in either of the hexagons. The
atoms in the hexagons are shared with adjacent HCP structures.

The HCP crystalline structure is found in several different metals. Titanium and cadmium are two of the
most used metals that are comprised of the HCP crystalline structure at room temperature. Cobalt, zinc
and zirconium are a few other well-known examples.

The HCP crystalline structure has few ways that slipping can occur, giving these materials a high strength
but typically a brittle failure mode.