AUTONOMOUS
Crystal
Defects
An ideal crystal can be described in terms
a three-dimensionally periodic
arrangement of points called lattice and an
atom or group of atoms associated with
each lattice point called Basis:
Crystal = Lattice + basis
However, there can be deviations from this
ideality.
These deviations are known as crystal defects.
• Crystalline imperfections can be classified on
they basis of their geometry under four main
divisions namely
CLASSIFICATION OF DEFECTS BASED ON DIMENSIONALITY
0D 1D 2D 3D
(Point defects) (Line defects) (Surface / Interface) (Volume defects)
Surface Twins
Vacancy Dislocation
Interphase Precipitate
Impurity Disclination
boundary
Faulted
Frenkel Dispiration Grain
region
defect boundary
Twin Voids /
Schottky
boundary Cracks
defect
Stacking Thermal
faults vibration
Anti-phase
boundaries
[Link] or Schottky
[Link] or Frenkel
Point defects [Link] defects.
a. Substitutional
(0-dimensional)
b. interstitial
[Link] defects
Line defects [Link] dislocation
(1-dimensional) [Link] dislocation
Defects [Link] boundaries
Surface defects
[Link] boundaries
(2-dimensional)
[Link] boundaries
[Link] faults
Volume defects [Link]
(3-dimensional) [Link] or air bubbles
Defects Dimensionality Examples
Point 0 Vacancy
Line 1 Dislocation
Surface 2 Free surface,
Grain boundary
Volume 3 Non crystalline
region of dimension
Point
Defects
Vacancy
Vacancy
Non-ionic Interstitial
Impurity
crystals
Substitutional
0D
(Point defects) Frenkel defect
Ionic
Other ~
crystals
Schottky defect
Imperfect point-like regions in the crystal about the size of 1-2 atomic
diameters
Vacancy: A point defect
Vacancy:
A vacancy refers to an atomic site from where
the atom is missing.
Point Defects:
• Point imperfections are also called zero
dimensional imperfections. One or two atomic
diameters is the typical size of a point
imperfection.
• Introduction of point defect into a crystal
increases its internal energy and changes the
electrical resistance of the crystal.
• Due to these point defects mechanical strength
is reduced and strain produced.
Compositional defects.
• A substitutianal impurity is a
point imperfection and it refers
to a foreign atom that
substitutes for or replaces a
parent atom in the crystal.
• A small sized atom occupying
the void space in the parent
crystal disturbing the parent
atoms from their regular sites is
a interstitial impurity.
Point Defects
vacancy Interstitial
impurity
Substitutional
impurity
Defects in ionic solids
cation
Frenkel
anion defect
Cation vacancy
+
cation interstitial
Schottky
defect
Cation vacancy
+
anion vacancy
Frenkel Defect: An atom leaves the regular site and
occupies interstitial position. Such defects are
called Frenkel defects.
The point imperfections in silver halides and CaF 2
are of the Frenkel type.
Schottky defect:
A pair of one cation and one anion can be missing
from an ionic crystal as shown in a figure. such a
pair of vacant ion sites is called schottky defect.
Electronic defects:
• Errors in charge distribution in solids are
called electronic defects.
• These defects are produced, when the
composition of an ionic crystal does not
correspond to the exact Stoichiometric
formula.
Line Defects
Dislocations
Line defects
• Line defects are one dimensional imperfections in
the geometrical sense.
• Line imperfections are called disocation.
• There are in general two types of dislocations:
1. Edge dislocation
2. Screw dislocation
Missing half plane A Defect
An extra half plane…
…or a missing half plane
What kind of
defect is this?
A line defect?
Or a planar
defect?
Extra half plane No extra plane!
Missing plane No missing
An extra half plane…
Edge
Dislocation
…or a missing half plane
Edge dislocation
• In a perfect crystal, atoms are arranged in both vertical
and horizontal planes parallel to the side faces.
• If one of these vertical planes does not extended to full
length but ends in between, within the crystal as shown in
figure, it is called edge dislocation.
• Edge dislocations are symbolically represented by ┴ or ┬
or depending on whether the incomplete plane starts from
the top or from the bottom of the crystal.
• These two configurations are referred to as positive and
negative edge dislocations.
Perfect crystal
An incomplete plane in a
Crystal results in an edge
dislocation
Edge Dislocation
432 atoms
55 x 38 x 15 cm3
a sta sid s
v e r y in n d
g
de l w e
d n
i t
ha a c tly e e
fe e
e n ec
f
.
n y e
ct
ru la
t l d
p
u ta
r
ab a p
b no
p
f a s
o i
If
l e n e
h o la e
w p p l a n
he f t h e a
T g e o d a s
e e d d e r e c t
y t h o n s i e f e
O n l e c d
n b
ca
This is a line defect called an
EDGE DISLOCATION
• The edge dislocation containing an extra plane of
atoms lying above the positive slip plane (or)
Burgers plane are conventionally called the
positive edge dislocation.
• If the extra half plane of atoms containing below
the slip plane called the negative edge dislocation.
Positive and negative dislocations
Burgers vector
Johannes Martinus
BURGERS
Burgers vector
S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 1 1 1 1 1
F 1 2 3 4 5 6
1
9
2
8
3
7 A closed
4
6 Burgers
5
5 Circuit in an
4 ideal crystal 6
7
3
8
2
1 9
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
6 5 4 3 2 1 0
F b
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 2 3 4 5 6
9 S 1
2
8
3
7
Map thesame 4
6
5
Burgers circuit on a 5
4 real crystal 6
7
3
8
2
1 9
1 1 1 1 1 1 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
6 5 4 3 2 1
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 1 1 1 1 1
F 1 2 3 4 5 6
9 S 1
2
8
3
7 4
6
5
5
6
4
7
3
8
2
1 9
1 1 1 1 1 1 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
6 5 4 3 2 1
Burgers vector
• The magnitude and the direction of the
displacement are defined by a vector
called the Burgers vector.
• Consider two crystals one perfect and
another with edge dislocation.
Fig 1. Fig 2.
P b Q P
An incomplete plane in a
Crystal results in an edge
Perfect crystal dislocation
• From fig. 1.
• Starting from the point P, we go up by 6 steps, then move
towards right by 5 steps, and move down by 6 steps and
finally move towards left by 5 steps to reach the starting
point P, the burgers circuit gets closed.
• From fig 2.
• We end up at Q instead of the starting point P.
• Now we have to move an extra step QP to return to ‘P’ in
order to close the burgers circuit.
• The magnitude and the direction of the step defines the
Burgers vector (BV)
BV = QP = b
• The Burgers vector is perpendicular to the edge
dislocation line.
Screw Dislocation
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Burgers vector
b Slip plane
slip no slip
boundary = edge
dislocation
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Slip plane
slip no slip
Dislocation:
dislocation
slip/no slip
boundary
b: Burgers vector
magnitude and
t direction of the
slip
t: unit vector
b tangent to the
dislocation line
Dislocation Line:
A dislocation line is the boundary
between slip and no slip regions of a
crystal
Burgers vector:
The magnitude and the direction of the
slip is represented by a vector b called
the Burgers vector,
Line vector
A unit vector t tangent to the
dislocation line is called a tangent
vector or the line vector.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Burgers vector
b Slip plane
slip t no slip
boundary = edge
dislocation
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
In general, there can be any angle
between the Burgers vector b
(magnitude and the direction of slip)
and the line vector t (unit vector tangent
to the dislocation line)
b t Edge dislocation
b t Screw dislocation
btb t Mixed
dislocation
n e
L i
on
i
c at
o
D isl
ew t
S cr
b || t
• Screw dislocation results from a displacement of the
atoms in one part of a crystal relative to the rest of
the crystal,forming a spiral ramp around the
dislocation line
Screw Dislocation
525 atoms
45 x 20 x 15 cm3
Screw Dislocation (another view)
Positive Negative
Extra half Extra half
Edge plane above plane below
Dislocation the slip plane the slip plane
Left-handed Right-handed
spiral ramp spiral ramp
Screw
Dislocation b parallel to t b antiparallel to
t
Surface
Defects
Surface defects
• Surface defects refer to region of distortions
that lie about surface having a thickness of
a few atomic diameters.
Volume defects
• Volume defects (also known as bulk
defects or three-dimensional defects) are
imperfections that occur throughout a large
region of the crystal, involving a
considerable number of atoms. Unlike point
or line defects, these defects extend over a
finite volume of the material.
Types of Volume defects
• Voids (or Vacancies Clusters):
• These are small regions within the crystal where a large number of
atoms are missing.
• They are formed due to the clustering of vacancies during processes
like solidification or heat treatment.
• Cracks:
• Cracks are physical separations or fractures within the crystal.
• They occur due to mechanical stress, rapid cooling, or other external
forces.
• They weaken the material and may lead to failure
• Pores (Porosity):
• Small holes or cavities that form inside materials, often during
solidification or sintering.
• Common in metals, ceramics, and sintered materials.
• Reduce density and mechanical strength
