Lattice Positions, Directions,

and Planes
Lattice Positions
• A crystal lattice is the arrangement of atoms, or groups of atoms, in a
crystal. These atoms or groups of atoms are commonly referred to as
points within a crystal lattice site
• A given lattice position is structurally equivalent to the same position
in any other unit cell of the same structure. These equivalent
positions are connected by lattice translations.
Lattice Positions
• The position of any point located within a unit cell may be specified in
terms of its coordinates as fractional multiples of the unit cell edge
lengths.
• In writing the coordinates, it is preferred not to separate these
coordinates by commas, or other punctuation marks.
• For the unit cell shown in
the accompanying sketch
(a), locate the point having
coordinates 1/4 1 1/2.
• Answer:
• Specify point coordinates
for all atom positions for a
unit cell.
Lattice Directions
• Lattice Direction is defined as a line between two points
• The following steps are utilized in the determination of the three
directional indices:
1. A vector of convenient length is positioned such that it passes
through the origin of the coordinate system
2. The length of the vector projection on each of the three axes is
determined
Lattice Directions
3. These three numbers are multiplied or divided by a common
factor to reduce them to the smallest integer values
4. The three indices, not separated by commas, are enclosed in
square brackets.

• Negative indices are represented by a bar over the appropriate index.

• Determine the indices for
the direction shown in the
accompanying figure.
• Answer
• Draw a [1bar10 ] direction
within a cubic unit cell.
Lattice Directions
• If one looks at all body diagonals associated with the cubic crystal
system, it is apparent that they are structurally identical, differing only
in their orientation in space.
• Such a set of directions, which are structurally equivalent, is called a
Family of directions and is designated by angular/square brackets.
Lattice Directions
• To know the angle between directions:
Example
• What is the angle between [110] and [111] directions in the cubic
system?

• Answer : 35.3 degrees

Lattice Planes
• Specified by three Miller indices (hkl)
• The procedure employed in determination of the h, k, and l index is as
follows
1. If the plane passes through the selected origin, either another
parallel plane must be constructed within the unit cell by an
appropriate translation, or a new origin must be established at the
corner of another unit cell
Lattice Planes
2. The length of the planar intercept for each axis is determined
in terms of the lattice parameters a,b and c
3. The reciprocals of these numbers are taken. A plane that
parallels an axis may be considered to have an infinite intercept,
therefore a zero index
4. If necessary, these three numbers are changed to the smallest
integers by multiplication or division of a common factor
Lattice Planes
5. Finally, the integer indeces, not separated by commas, are
enclosed within a parentheses: (hkl)
• Determine the Miller
indices for the plane shown
in the accompanying sketch
(a).
• Translation
• Answer
Lattice Planes
• The general notation for Miller indices is (hkl) and can be used for any
of the seven crystal systems.
• Because the hexagonal system can be conveniently represented by
four axes, a four digit set of Miller-Bravais system (hkil) can be
defined.
Lattice Planes
• Once a plane intersects any two axes in the basal plane, the
intersection with the third basal plane axis is determined. As a result
it can be shown that h + k = -i for any plane in the hexagonal system.
• We can group structurally equivalent planes as a family of planes
with Miller or Miller-Bravais indices closed in braces, {hkl} or {hkil}