Chapter 5: Imperfections in Solids

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 POINT DEFECTS

• Vacancies:
-vacant atomic sites in a structure.

Vacancy
distortion
of planes

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Observing Equilibrium Vacancy Concentration

Island grows/shrinks to maintain

equil. vancancy conc. in the bulk.

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 Self-interstitials

• Self-Interstitials:
-"extra" atoms positioned between atomic sites.

self-
distortion interstitial
of planes

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Vacancy and Self-Interstitial

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Point Defects in Ceramics

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Frenkel Defect & Schottky Defect

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Non-stoichiometry

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Impurities in Solids

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Impurities in Solids

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 POINT DEFECTS IN ALLOYS

Two outcomes if impurity (B) added to host (A):

• Solid solution of B in A (i.e., random dist. of point defects)

OR

Substitutional alloy Interstitial alloy

(e.g., Cu in Ni) (e.g., C in Fe)
• Solid solution of B in A plus particles of a new
phase (usually for a larger amount of B)
Second phase particle
--different composition
--often different structure.

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 Impurities
• Impurities must also satisfy charge balance
• Ex: NaCl Na+ Cl-
cation
• Substitutional cation impurity vacancy
Ca2+
Na+
Na+
Ca2+
initial geometry Ca2+ impurity resulting geometry

• Substitutional anion impurity anion vacancy

O2-

Cl- Cl-
initial geometry O2- impurity resulting geometry
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 Dislocations
• A dislocation is a linear or one-dimensional defect around which some of the atoms are
misaligned.
• Edge dislocation: an extra portion of a plane of atoms, or half-plane, the edge of which
terminates within the crystal.

• Dislocation line: the end of the extra half-plane of atoms.

• Within the region around the dislocation line there is some localized lattice distortion. The
magnitude of this distortion decreases with distance away from the dislocation line; at
positions far removed, the crystal lattice is virtually perfect.

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 Screw dislocation
Screw dislocation may be thought of as being formed by a shear stress that is applied to produce
the distortion. The upper front region of the crystal is shifted one atomic distance to the right
relative tot the bottom portion.

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 Mixed dislocation
Most dislocations found in crystalline materials are probably neither pure edge nor pure
screw, but exhibit components of both types; these are termed mixed dislocations.

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 Observation of dislocation
Dislocations can be observed in crystalline materials using Electron
Microscopic techniques.

TEM of a titanium alloy

Virtually all crystalline materials contain some dislocations that were introduced during
solidification, during plastic deformation and as a consequence of thermal stresses that
result from rapid cooling.

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 Interfacial Defects

• Boundaries that have two dimensions

• Normally separate regions of materials with different crystal
structure and /or crystallographic orientations.

• External Surfaces
• Grain Boundaries
• Twin Boundaries
• Stacking faults

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 Interfacial Defects: Grain Boundaries
Grain boundaries:
• are boundaries between crystals.
• are produced by the solidification process, for example.
• have a change in crystal orientation across them.
• impede dislocation motion. Metal Ingot
Schematic ~ 8cm

grain
boundaries

Adapted from Fig. 4.7, Callister 6e.
heat
flow Adapted from Fig. 4.10, Callister 6e.
(Fig. 4.10 is from Metals Handbook, Vol. 9, 9th edition,
Metallography and Microstructures, Am. Society for
Metals, Metals Park, OH, 1985.) MAE 2321
Interfacial Defects: Grain Boundaries

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 Tilt Boundary
• Results from an alignment of edge dislocations

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 Grain Boundary Energy

• Results from less bonding.

• A function of the degree of misorientation

-larger for high-angle boundary

• More chemically reactive than the grains.

• Impurity atoms segregate along the grain boundaries because

of their high energy states.

• Grain growth: to minimize the grain boundary energy.

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Twin Boundary

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 BOND BREAKING AND REMAKING
• Dislocation motion requires successive bumping
of a half plane of atoms (from left to right here).
• Bonds across the slipping planes are broken and
remade in succession.

Atomic view of edge

dislocation motion from
left to right as a crystal
is sheared.

(Courtesy P.M. Anderson)

Click on image to animate
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 OPTICAL MICROSCOPY (1)
• Useful up to 2000X magnification.
• Polishing removes surface features (e.g., scratches)
• Etching changes reflectance, depending on crystal
orientation.
microscope

close-packed planes
Adapted from Fig. 4.11(b) and (c),
Callister 6e. (Fig. 4.11(c) is courtesy
of J.E. Burke, General Electric Co.

micrograph of
Brass (Cu and Zn)

0.75mm MAE 2321

 OPTICAL MICROSCOPY (2)
Grain boundaries...
• are imperfections,
• are more susceptible microscope
to etching,
• may be revealed as polished surface
dark lines,
surface groove
• change direction in a grain boundary
polycrystal.
Adapted from Fig. 4.12(a)
ASTM grain and (b), Callister 6e.
size number (Fig. 4.12(b) is courtesy
of L.C. Smith and C.
Brady, the National
N = 2n-1 Bureau of Standards,
Washington, DC [now the
National Institute of
no. grains/in2
Standards and

at 100x Fe-Cr alloy Technology,

Gaithersburg, MD].)
magnification

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 Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM)

• Atoms can be arranged and imaged!

Photos produced from
the work of C.P. Lutz,
Zeppenfeld, and D.M.
Eigler. Reprinted with
permission from
International Business
Machines
Corporation,
copyright 1995.

Carbon monoxide Iron atoms arranged

molecules arranged on a copper (111)
on a platinum (111) surface. These Kanji
surface. characters represent
the word “atom”.

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Schematic of Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM)

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Atom Manipulation with STM

Fe on Cu(111)
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STM Image of Si (111)

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