Crystallography

Fundamentals

The Unit Cell and Seven Crystal Systems

β α

b
γ
a

Crystal System Lattice Parameters Lattice Angles

Cubic a=b=c α = β = γ = 90°
Tetragonal a=b≠c α = β = γ = 90°
Orthorhombic a≠b≠c α = β = γ = 90°
Rhombohedral a=b=c α = β = γ ≠ 90°
Hexagonal a=b≠c α = β = 90°, γ = 120°
Monoclinic a≠b≠c α = γ = 90°, β ≠ 90°
Triclinic a≠b≠c α ≠ β ≠ γ ≠ 90°

The Bravais Lattices

Cullity defines a lattice point as, “An array of points in space so arranged that each point has
[statistically] identical surroundings.” The “statistically” is a weasel word that allows for solid
solutions and other circumstances where fractional atoms would otherwise be required.
# of
Name Symbol Lattice Location of Lattice Site(s)
Sites
Primitive P 1 000
Body Centered I 2 000 and ½ ½ ½
Face Centered F 4 000, 0 ½ ½, ½ 0 ½, and ½ ½ 0
A 000 and 0 ½ ½
Base Centered B 2 000 and ½ 0 ½
C 000 and ½ ½ 0

In general, “C base centered” is the most common usage.

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 Based on multiplication, there should be 7 × 4 = 28 Bravais lattices. However, there are but
14. This apparent discrepancy will be discussed below. The Bravais lattices are:
Crystal System Bravais Lattices
Cubic P, I, F
Tetragonal P, I
Orthorhombic P, I, F, “C”
Rhombohedral P (sometimes “R”)
Hexagonal P
Monoclinic P, “C”
Triclinic P

The 14 Bravais lattices are shown below with the numbers as follow: (1) triclinic P, (2)
monoclinic P, (3) monoclinic C, (4) orthorhombic P, (5) orthorhombic C, (6) orthorhombic 1,
(7) orthorhombic F, (8) tetragonal P, (9) tetragonal 1, (10) cubic P, (11) cubic 1, (12) cubic F,
(13) hexagonal P, (14) trigonal R. Note that (13) shows three P hexagonal unit cells. All
angles 90° unless noted.

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 Finally, we need to consider why there are only 14 Bravais lattices. Since there are no unit
cell boundaries defined in a real crystal, the unit cell selection is made based upon:
• highest symmetry (use hexagonal rather than rhombohedral, for example)
• consistency with past convention
• minimize unit cell volume
• satisfaction of minimal symmetry requirements
Often, several of these criteria are used for the same choice.
In the figure below, the thin unit cell boundaries show a base centered cubic unit cell, which
not among the 14 Bravais lattices. As can be seen with the heavy unit cell lines, this
arrangement of lattice points is more correctly known as primitive tetragonal, which certainly
meets reasons (3) and (4) above. However, the latter concept, minimum symmetry, requires
that two topics be reviewed, Miller indices and stereographic projections.

Fundamentals (Assumed Background)

Miller Indices
Directions and planes are reported as integers enclosed in brackets (sometimes the
brackets are omitted by convention).

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 ( ) - specific plane
{ } - general plane (of a type or form)
[ ] - specific direction
< > - general direction (of a type or form)
Note that “crystallographically equivalent” planes and directions are dependent on crystal
system. For example, (100) and (001) are not equivalent in the case of a tetragonal crystal.
Crystallographic Directions
• Draw vector from the origin of the unit cell. Choose the origin so that the vector stays
within the unit cell.
• Divide three numbers by a common factor to keep them within the unit cell when drawing
directions. Multiply or divide the three numbers by a common factor to reduce them to
the smallest integer value when reporting the direction.
• Determine the length of the vectors projection on each unit cell axis measure the length
in terms of the unit cell dimensions.
Crystallographic Planes
• Draw the unit cell so that the plane does not pass through the origin.
• Determine where the plane intercepts each axis.
• Take the reciprocals of these numbers.
• Multiply or divide by a common factor to get the smallest integer.
Note that the origin can be moved.
Make sure you can both draw and identify directions and planes!!
Hexagonal Crystals
In hexagonal crystals, the three index system is less than complete since equivalent planes
and directions do not appear as such: e.g., (100) and ( 1 10) are equivalent but do not
appear to be!
A four index system (Miller-Bravais) exists so that equivalent directions and planes can be
easily identified.
Planes: (hkl) or (hkil) where i = -(h + k)
Directions: [UVW] or [uvtw] where
U = v - t, V = v - t, W = w
or
u = 1/3 (2U - V), v = 1/3(2V - U), t = -(u + v), and w = W
Note that the four index plane designations are pretty universally used, whereas the four
index directions are less used.
The relationships between three and four index direction designations can be seen in a
figure from Barrett and Massalski:

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 If you are uncertain of your understanding of Miller indices, practice and ask questions! This
topic is covered fairly well in most introductory materials texts.

Stereographic Projections
This useful tool allows the display and measurement of the angular relationships between
planes and directions in all crystals. It also the basis for stereograms, which are used to
display symmetry elements of three-dimensional crystals.
The stereographic projection is based on projecting the normal of a plane onto a sphere and
then placing that point (pole) onto a flat piece of paper. This idea can be seen from the
figure from Cullity:

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 Note that a plane can be represented by its normal (a point) or its trace (a great or small
circle). As you will recall, the center of a great circle passes through the center of a sphere,
whereas the center of a small circle does not. On a globe (the most familiar example), the
longitudes and the equator are great circles, and the latitudes (excluding the equator) are
small circles. A Wulff net allows you to construct a stereographic projection, although we will
not teach this skill in this course.

A useful step is to now take a three-dimensional figure, see how the poles appear on a
sphere, and then examine the stereographic projection. Relying on your visualization skills,
we start from a solid that exhibits all of the required symmetries of a cubic crystal:

We can then add the poles of each plane and, if desired, traces of the planes to a sphere,
Fig. 1.20. The spherical projection can then be converted to a stereogram, Fig. 1.21; a
stereogram is sometimes termed a "dot and circle" figure since it uses dots to show

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 intersections on the top surface and circles for intersections on the bottom surface. (Note:
the terms stereogram and stereographic projection are sometimes used interchangeably.)

We can now assign indices to these poles using an abbreviated interplanar angle table and
consider what a stereographic projection of a cubic crystal looks like.

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 HKL1 HKL2 Possible Angles (°)
100 100 0.0, 90.0
110 45.0, 90.0
111 54.7
210 26.6, 63.4, 90
110 110 0.0, 60.0, 90.0
111 35.3, 90.0
210 18.4, 50.8, 71.6
111 111 0.0, 70.5
210 39.2, 75.0
210 210 0, 36.9, 53.1

We can then go back and label the faces of the original figure:

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 By considering the last two figures, you should be able to see how we use the stereographic
projection to visualize angular relationships between planes, poles, and directions of
crystals, which are three-dimensional entities.
Our next topic will be symmetry elements, which have defined angular relationships to each
other.

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