6.13: Simple cubic, face centered cubic and diamond lattices

Last updated
Save as PDF

Page ID: 52346

\( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \) \( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)\(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)\(\newcommand{\AA}{\unicode[.8,0]{x212B}}\)

Figure 6.14.1 shows the simplest 3-d crystal structure – the simple cubic lattice. The primitive lattice vectors are \({\bf{a_{1}}} = a_{0}{\bf{\hat{x}}},\ {\bf{a_{2}}} = a_{0}{\bf{\hat{y}}},\ {\bf{a_{3}}} = a_{0}{\bf{\hat{z}}}\), where \(a_{0}\) is the spacing between neighboring atoms. Very few materials, however, exhibit the simple cubic structure. The major semiconductors, including silicon and gallium arsenide, possess the same structure as diamond.

As also shown in Figure 6.14.1, to describe the diamond structure, we first define the face centered cubic (FCC) lattice. Here the simple cubic structure is augmented by an atom in each of the faces of the cube. The primitive lattice vectors are:

\[ {\bf{a_{1}}} = \frac{a_{0}}{2}{\bf{\hat{x}+\hat{z}}},\ {\bf{a_{2}}} = \frac{a_{0}}{2}{\bf{\hat{y}+\hat{z}}},\ {\bf{a_{3}}} = \frac{a_{0}}{2}{\bf{\hat{x}+\hat{y}}}, \nonumber \]

where \(a_{0}\) is now the cube edge length.

In the diamond lattice, each atom is \(sp_{3}\)-hybridized. Thus, every atom is at the center of a tetrahedron. We can construct the diamond lattice from a face centered cubic lattice with a two atom unit cell. For example, in Figure 6.14.1, our unit cell has one atom at (0,0,0), and another at \(a_{0}/4\).(1,1,1).

Screenshot 2021-05-25 at 16.50.39.png — Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): A diamond lattice is simply a face-centered cubic lattice with a two atom unit cell (outlined in red).