CRYSTAL AND ITS

DEFECTS/ IMPERFECTION

Rajat Gupta
Assistant Professor
MAE Department
ADGITM NEW DELHI
In a crystal , the arrangement of atoms is in periodically
repeating pattern

Periodic repeating units are called unit cells.

Unit cell = building block of crystals

Lattice = infinite, repeating arrangement of unit cells to

make the crystal
OR
An array of points such that every point has identical
surroundings
 1. Cubic Crystals
a = b= c
= = = 90º

• Simple Cubic (P)

• Body Centred Cubic (I) – BCC
• Face Centred Cubic (F) - FCC

Pyrite
Cube

[1]
[1] Fluorite Garnet [1]
Octahedron Dodecahedron
2. Tetragonal Crystals
a=b c
= = = 90º

• Simple Tetragonal
• Body Centred Tetragonal

Zircon

[1] [1] [1]

[1] http://www.yourgemologist.com/crystalsystems.html
3. Orthorhombic Crystals
a b c
= = = 90º

• Simple Orthorhombic
• Body Centred Orthorhombic
• Face Centred Orthorhombic
• End Centred Orthorhombic

[1]
Topaz

[1]

[1] http://www.yourgemologist.com/crystalsystems.html
4. Hexagonal Crystals
a=b c
= = 90º
= 120º

• Simple Hexagonal

[1] Corundum
[1] http://www.yourgemologist.com/crystalsystems.html
5. Rhombohedral Crystals
a=b=c
= = 90º

• Rhombohedral (simple)

[1] [1]
Tourmaline
[1] http://www.yourgemologist.com/crystalsystems.html
6. Monoclinic Crystals
a b c
= = 90º

• Simple Monoclinic
• End Centred (base centered) Monoclinic (A/C)

[1]

Kunzite

[1] http://www.yourgemologist.com/crystalsystems.html
7. Triclinic Crystals
a b c

• Simple Triclinic

[1]
Amazonite

[1] http://www.yourgemologist.com/crystalsystems.html
RHOMBOHEDRAL
1 atom/unit cell 2 atoms/unit cell 4 atoms/unit cell
(8 x 1/8 = 1) (8 x 1/8 + 1 = 2) (8 x 1/8 + 6 x 1/2 = 4)
1
The properties of some materials are profoundly influenced by the presence of
imperfections. Consequently, it is important to have a knowledge about the types of
imperfections that exist and the roles they play in affecting the behaviour of materials. For
example, the mechanical properties of pure metals experience significant alterations when
alloyed (i.e., when impurity atoms are added)—for example, brass (70% copper/30% zinc)
is much harder and stronger than pure copper.

In the processing/structure/properties/performance scheme, reasons for studying

imperfections in solids are as follows:
• For the processing of silicon as a semiconducting material, it is important to specify
impurity concentration in appropriate units.
• Development of the desirable mechanical properties for steel alloys relies on the
presence of specific impurities, some of which form solid solutions. Thus, an
understanding of the concept of a solid solution is important.
• The mechanisms of hardening and strengthening for steel alloys involve a crystalline
defect called a dislocation.
Try EXAMPLE PROBLEM 4.1
Question : Why metals can be plastically deformed and why the
plastic deformation properties could be changed to a very large
degree by forging without changing the chemical properties ?

This phenomenon was explained by Taylor, Orowan and Olyani by

using the concept of dislocations.
Dislocations are thought of as extra lattice planes inserted in the
crystal but not extending through all of the crystal but ending in
the dislocation line.

Motion of dislocations allows slip- Plastic Deformation –when

interatomic bonds are fractured and reformed. Slip always occurs
through dislocations motion.
Line Defects
Dislocations ( Line defects) :These defects produce
lattice distortions centered about a line.

A dislocation is the edge of an extra inserted fractional plane of atoms.

Positive dislocation: extra fractional plane, Negative dislocation ( missing
fractional plane)
Dislocations play a very important role in the deformation of crystals.
Slip : Plastic deformation when interatomic bonds are fractured and
reformed . Slip always occurs through dislocations motion.
Slip plane : The plane in which a dislocation moves through a
crystal.
When a shear stress is applied , the dislocation moves, one atomic row after
another, until one part of the crystal is displaced relative to the other. The
motion of the dislocation causes the crystal to be permanently deformed.

On either side of the dislocation, the crystal lattice is perfect but in the
vicinity of the dislocation the lattice is severely distorted. For a positive edge
dislocation , the presence of the extra half plane causes the atoms above the
slip plane to be in compression while those below are in tension.

http://web.mit.edu/3.091/www/archives/Notes_6.pdf
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 plane!!!
An extra half plane…

Edge
Dislocation

…or a missing half plane

This is a line defect called an
EDGE DISLOCATION
Callister FIGURE 4.3

The atom positions around an edge

dislocation; extra half-plane of atoms shown
in perspective. (Adapted from A. G.
Guy, Essentials of Materials
Science, McGraw-Hill Book Company, New
York, 1976, p. 153.)
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: slip/no slip

boundary
b: Burgers vector

dislocation
magnitude and
t
direction of the slip
t: unit vector tangent
b 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

b t b t Mixed dislocation
 Edge Dislocation Glide

Shear stress

Surface
step
 Edge Climb

Positive climb Negative climb

Removal of a row of atoms Addition of a row of atoms
 t

b || t

b
 If b || t

Then parallel planes to the dislocation line lose their distinct identity and
become one continuous spiral ramp

Hence the name SCREW DISLOCATION

 Positive Negative

Extra half plane above the Extra half plane below the
Edge Dislocation slip plane slip plane

Left-handed spiral ramp Right-handed spiral ramp

Screw Dislocation

b parallel to t b antiparallel to t
 Imperfections in Solids
Screw Dislocation
Screw Dislocation

b
Dislocation
line
Burgers vector b (b)
(a)
Adapted from Fig. 5.9, Callister & Rethwisch 3e.

57
 Edge, Screw, and Mixed Dislocations
Mixed

Edge

Screw
Adapted from Fig. 5.10, Callister & Rethwisch 3e.

58
Geometric properties of dislocations
 In a edge dislocation : b is perpendicular to t.
 In a screw dislocation : b is parallel to t.
 Other properties are as in the table below.

Type of dislocation
Dislocation Property
Edge Screw
Relation between dislocation line (t) and b  ||
Slip direction**
|| to b || to b
(& the ‘direction’ of step created when dislocation leaves the crystal)

Direction of dislocation line movement relative to b || 

Process by which dislocation may leave slip plane* climb Cross-slip

* Note: edge dislocations cannot cross slip & screw dislocations cannot climb.
** Slip is the end result when dislocation leaves the crystal to create a step. Slip is hence always parallel to b. Motion of a
dislocation line is… well… “motion of a dislocation line”.
Glide of
an Edge
Dislocation
Glide of crss
an Edge
Dislocation

crss is
critical
resolved
shear stress
on the slip
plane in the
direction
of
b.
crss
Glide of crss
an Edge
Dislocation

crss is
critical
resolved
shear stress
on the slip
plane in the
direction
of
b.
crss
Glide of crss
an Edge
Dislocation

crss is
critical
resolved
shear stress
on the slip
plane in the
direction
of
b.
crss
Glide of crss
an Edge
Dislocation

crss is
critical
resolved
shear stress
on the slip
plane in the
direction
of
b.
crss
Glide of crss
an Edge
Dislocation

A surface
step of b is
created if a
dislocation Surface step, not a
sweeps over dislocation

the entire
slip plane

crss
Dislocations leaving the slip plane
 As it was observed the ‘first step’ of plastic deformation is the motion of a dislocation
leaving the crystal (or to some other interface bounding the crystal) → leading to the
formation of a step.
 For continued plastic deformation it is necessary that dislocations continue to move and
leave the crystal. Hence, any impediments to the motion of a dislocation will lead to
‘hardening’ of the crystal and would ‘stall’ plastic deformation (the pinning of a
dislocation).
 Once a dislocation has been pinned it can either ‘break down the barrier’ or ‘bypass’ the
barrier.
 Bypassing the barrier can take place by mechanisms like:
 Climb  Cross Slip  Frank-Read mechanism ….
 In climb and cross slip the dislocation leaves/changes its ‘current’ slip plane and moves to
another slip plane thus avoiding the barrier
 However, these processes (climb and cross slip) can occur independent of the pinning of
the dislocation!
 Non-conservative*:
Edge dislocation Climb involves mass transport
Dislocation leaving/changing
the slip plane
Screw dislocation Cross Slip Conservative

In climb an edge dislocation moves to an adjacent parallel plane, but in cross slip a screw dislocation
moves to a plane inclined to the original plane.

*Conservative climb is also possible!! → by motion of prismatic edge loop on the slip plane
 Climb of Edge Dislocation

Positive climb Negative climb

Removal of a row of atoms Addition of a row of atoms

Removal of a row of atoms leads to a decrease in vacancy concentration in the crystal and negative climb
leads to an increase in vacancy concentration in the crystal.
 Screw dislocation: Cross Slip
 Let the dislocation be moving on SP1 (as the resolved shear stress is maximum on Slip
Plane-1 (SP1)).
 The figures below show the cross slip of a screw dislocation line from SP1 to Slip plane-2
(SP2). This may occur if the dislocation is ‘pinned’ in slip plane-1.
 For such a process to occur the Resolved Shear Stress on SP2 should be at least greater
than the Peierls stress
(often stresses higher than the Peierls stress has to be overcome due to the presence of other stress fields).
 It is to be noted that SP1 & SP2 are (usually) crystallographically equivalent, i.e. if SP1 is
(111)CCP Crystal then SP2 can be (–111)CCP Crystal.

The dislocation is shown cross-slipping from the blue plane to the green plane
 How does plastic deformation by slip
occur?

The first step of plastic deformation by slip (at the fundamental level) is the motion of a
dislocation leaving the crystal.
 By externally applied force (or some other means!) stress has to be ‘generated’ within the
crystal.
 The slip plane should feel shear stresses.
 The shear stress should exceed the ‘Critical Resolved Shear Stress (CRSS)’ or Peierls
stress.
 The dislocation should leave the crystal creating a surface step of height ‘b’.
The process ahead of this which leads to an arbitrary shape change is complicated and we will
deal with a part of it later.
 Where can a dislocation line end?
 Dislocation line cannot end inside the crystal (abruptly)
 The dislocation line:
 Ends on a free surface of the crystal
 Ends on an internal surface or interface
 Closes on itself to form a loop
 Ends in a node
 A node is the intersection point of more than two dislocations
 The vectoral sum of the Burgers vectors of dislocations meeting at a
node = 0
What about the introduction of a quarter plane of atoms- doesn’t the dislocation line end inside the crystal?

 As seen in the figure below there are two sections to the dislocation line ending on free surface of the crystal and hence
not inside the crystal.
Dislocations can be observed using transmission electron microscopy, field ion
microscopy and atom probe techniques. Deep-level transient spectroscopy has been
used for studying the electrical activity of dislocations in semiconductors, mainly
silicon.
Line defects weaken the structure along, and the defects' type and density affect the
mechanical properties of the solids. Thus, formation and study of dislocations are
particularly important for structural materials such as metals.
A transmission electron micrograph of
a titanium alloy in which the dark lines
are dislocations. 51,450.(Courtesy of
M. R. Plichta, Michigan Technological
University.)
Surface

Defect
 Surface Defects

External Internal

Free surface Grain boundary

Stacking fault Same

phase
Twin boundary

Interphase Differen
t phases
boundary
INTERFACIAL DEFECTS
Interfacial 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,
grain boundaries,
phase boundaries,
twin boundaries,
and stacking faults.

External Surfaces
One of the most obvious boundaries is the external surface, along which the crystal structure
terminates. Surface atoms are not bonded to the maximum number of nearest neighbors, and
are therefore in a higher energy state than the atoms at interior positions. The bonds of these
surface atoms that are not satisfied give rise to a surface energy, expressed in units of energy
per unit area (J/m2 or erg/cm2). To reduce this energy, materials tend to minimize, if at all
possible, the total surface area. For example, liquids assume a shape having a minimum area
—the droplets become spherical. Of course, this is not possible with solids, which are
mechanically rigid.
 Optical Microscopy, Experiment 4

Photomicrograph an iron Callister, Fig. 4.12

chromium alloy. 100X.
Internal surface: grain boundary
Grain
Boundary

Grain 2
Grain 1
A grain boundary is a boundary between two regions of identical crystal structure
but different orientation
Grain Boundaries
Tilt Boundary Twist Boundary Twin Boundary
Another interfacial defect, the grain boundary, was introduced as the boundary
separating two small grains or crystals having different crystallographic orientations in
polycrystalline materials. Within the boundary region, which is probably just several
atom distances wide, there is some atomic mismatch in a transition from the
crystalline orientation of one grain to that of an adjacent one.
Various degrees of crystallographic misalignment between adjacent grains are possible
(Figure 4.7).When this orientation mismatch is slight, on the order of a few degrees,
then the term small- (or low-) angle grain boundary is used. These boundaries can be
described in terms of dislocation arrays.

One simple small-angle grain boundary is formed when edge dislocations are
aligned in the manner of Figure 4.8. This type is called a tilt boundary; the angle of
misorientation, , is also indicated in the figure.

When the angle of misorientation is parallel to the boundary, a twist boundary

results, which can be described by an array of screw dislocations.
Grain Boundary: tilt and twist

One grain orientation can be obtained by rotation of

another grain across the grain boundary about an axis
through an angle

If the axis of rotation lies in the boundary plane it is

called tilt boundary- Edge dislocation

If the angle of rotation is perpendicular to the

boundary plane it is called a twist boundary – Screw
dislocation
Grain Boundary: low and high angle

One grain orientation can be obtained by rotation of

another grain across the grain boundary about an axis
through an angle

If the angle of rotation is high, it is called a high angle

grain boundary

If the angle of rotation is low it is called a low angle

grain boundary
 Angle of misalignment

High-angle
grain boundary

Small-angle
grain
boundary

Angle of misalignment
Fig. 4.7 Schematic diagram showing small and high-angle
grain boundaries and the adjacent atom positions
 b

θ
FIG 4.8 demonstration of how a tilt boundary having an angle of misorientation θ
results from an alignment of edge dislocations.
Phase Boundaries
Phase boundaries exist in multiphase materials (Section 9.3), wherein a different phase
exists on each side of the boundary; furthermore, each of the constituent phases has
its own distinctive physical and/or chemical characteristics. As we shall see in
subsequent chapters, phase boundaries play an important role in determining the
mechanical characteristics of some multiphase metal alloys.
Twin Boundaries
A twin boundary is a special type of grain boundary across which there is a specific
mirror lattice symmetry; that is, atoms on one side of the boundary are located in
mirror-image positions of the atoms on the other side (Figure 4.9). The region of
material between these boundaries is appropriately termed a twin. Twins result from
atomic displacements that are produced from applied mechanical shear forces
(mechanical twins), and also during annealing heat treatments following deformation
(annealing twins).Twinning occurs on a definite crystallographic plane and in a specific
direction, both of which depend on the crystal structure. Annealing twins are typically
found in metals that have the FCC crystal structure, whereas mechanical twins are
observed in BCC and HCP metals.
 Twin plane (boundary)

Fig4.9 Schematic diagram showing a twin plane or boundary and the

adjacent atom positions (colored circles).
Miscellaneous Interfacial Defects
Other possible interfacial defects include stacking faults and ferromagnetic domain
walls. Stacking faults are found in FCC metals when there is an interruption in the
ABCABCABC . . . stacking sequence of close-packed planes (Section 3.12). For
ferromagnetic and ferrimagnetic materials, the boundary that separates regions having
different directions of magnetization is termed a domain wall, which is discussed in
Section 20.7. Associated with each of the defects discussed in this section is an
interfacial energy, the magnitude of which depends on boundary type, and which will
vary from material to material. Normally, the interfacial energy will be greatest for
external surfaces and least for domain walls.
Stacking fault

C A

B C

A B
Stacking HCP
C A
fault
B
B B
A
A A

C C

B
FCC FCC
A
Influence of grain boundaries
• Grain boundaries influence strength, ductility of
metals and strain hardening.
• Plastic deformation takes place through grain-
boundary sliding.
• Creep mechanism results from grain-boundary
sliding.
• At a low-melting-point, metals,
strong metal can crack under
very low stresses known as
grain-boundary embrittlement.
Recovery, Recrystallization,
and Grain Growth
• The temperature range and the time required
depend on the material.
• 3 events take place during the heating:
 Recovery
- number of mobile
dislocations reduced
 Recrystallization
- new grains form
 Grain growth
- grains grow bigger
Cold, Warm, and Hot Working

• When plastic deformation above

recrystallization temperature, it is called hot
working, vice versa it is knowm as cold
working.