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Crystalline Defects in Silicon
{{Crystallography Crystallographic defects
In crystallography
Crystallography is the experimental science of determining the arrangement of atoms in crystalline solids. Crystallography is a fundamental subject in the fields of materials science and solid-state physics ( condensed matter physics). The wor ...
, a vacancy is a type of point defect in a crystal
A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macro ...
where an atom
Every atom is composed of a nucleus and one or more electrons bound to the nucleus. The nucleus is made of one or more protons and a number of neutrons. Only the most common variety of hydrogen has no neutrons.
Every solid, liquid, gas, a ...
is missing from one of the lattice sites.Ehrhart, P. (1991) "Properties and interactions of atomic defects in metals and alloys", chapter 2, p. 88 in ''Landolt-Börnstein, New Series III'', Vol. 25, Springer, Berlin Crystals inherently possess imperfections, sometimes referred to as crystalline defects.
Vacancies occur naturally in all crystalline materials. At any given temperature, up to the melting point of the material, there is an equilibrium concentration (ratio of vacant lattice sites to those containing atoms). At the melting point of some metals the ratio can be approximately 1:1000. This temperature dependence can be modelled by
:
where is the vacancy concentration, is the energy required for vacancy formation, is the Boltzmann constant
The Boltzmann constant ( or ) is the proportionality factor that relates the average relative kinetic energy of particles in a gas with the thermodynamic temperature of the gas. It occurs in the definitions of the kelvin and the gas constan ...
, is the absolute temperature, and is the concentration of atomic sites i.e.
:
where is mass, Avogadro constant
The Avogadro constant, commonly denoted or , is the proportionality factor that relates the number of constituent particles (usually molecules, atoms or ions) in a sample with the amount of substance in that sample. It is an SI defining ...
, and the molar mass.
It is the simplest point defect. In this system, an atom is missing from its regular atomic site. Vacancies are formed during solidification due to vibration of atoms, local rearrangement of atoms, plastic deformation and ionic bombardments.
The creation of a vacancy can be simply modeled by considering the energy required to break the bonds between an atom inside the crystal and its nearest neighbor atoms. Once that atom is removed from the lattice site, it is put back on the surface of the crystal and some energy is retrieved because new bonds are established with other atoms on the surface. However, there is a net input of energy because there are fewer bonds between surface atoms than between atoms in the interior of the crystal.
Material physics
In most applications vacancy defects are irrelevant to the intended purpose of a material, as they are either too few or spaced throughout a multi-dimensional space in such a way that force or charge can move around the vacancy. In the case of more constrained structures likecarbon nanotube
A scanning tunneling microscopy image of a single-walled carbon nanotube
Rotating single-walled zigzag carbon nanotube
A carbon nanotube (CNT) is a tube made of carbon with diameters typically measured in nanometers.
''Single-wall carbon na ...
s however, vacancies and other crystalline defects can significantly weaken the material.
See also
*Crystallographic defect
A crystallographic defect is an interruption of the regular patterns of arrangement of atoms or molecules in crystalline solids. The positions and orientations of particles, which are repeating at fixed distances determined by the unit cell para ...
* Schottky defect
*Frenkel defect
In crystallography, a Frenkel defect is a type of point defect in crystalline solids, named after its discoverer Yakov Frenkel. The defect forms when an atom or smaller ion (usually cation) leaves its place in the lattice, creating a vacanc ...
References
External links
Crystalline Defects in Silicon
{{Crystallography Crystallographic defects