Physics for Photonics – Master Europhotonics – Aix - Marseille Université page 1
Problem Set 2
P2.1
(a) Prove that the reciprocal lattice vectors satisfy :
~b1 · (~b2 × ~b3 ) = (2π)3
~a1 · (~a2 × ~a3 )
(b) Show that :
~b2 × ~b3
2π = ~a1
~b1 · (~b2 × ~b3 )
P2.2
Consider a plane (hkl ) in a crystal lattice.
~ = hb1 + kb2 + lb3 is perpendicular to this plane.
(a) Prove that the reciprocal lattice vector K
~ |.
(b) Prove that the distance between two adjacent parallel planes of the lattice is d(hkl) = 2π/ | K
(c) Show that for a simple cubic lattice d2 = a2 /(h2 + k 2 + l2 ).
P2.3
The cesium chloride (CsCl) structure is shown in Fig. 1. It can be regarded as a bcc lookalike lattice
of side a, with a basis consisting of a positively charged ion at the corner and a negatively charged ion
at the center. Find the structure factor SK
~ for CsCl for scattering against the (100) planes. Assume that
fCs+ = 3 fCl− .
Figure 1 – CsCl
Physics for Photonics – Master Europhotonics – Aix - Marseille Université page 2
Figure 2 – NaCl
P2.4
NaCl crystallizes in a fcc lattice with a basis of Na and Cl ions separated by half the body diagonal
of the cube (as in Fig. 2). The atomic numbers of Na and Cl are 11 and 17 respectively.
(a) Determine which X-ray reflections will be observed (indexed for the conventional cubic unit cell).
(b) Which group of reflection will be strong and which group will be weak ?
P2.5
Co has two forms : α-Co, with hcp structure (lattice spacing of a = 2.51Å and c = 4.07Å) and β-Co
with fcc structure (lattice spacing of acubic = 3.55Å). Assume that the hcp structure has an ideal c/a
ratio. Calculate and compare the position of the first five X-ray powder diffraction peaks. The quantity
K = (4π/λ) sin θ can be used to characterize the peaks positions (λ the wavelength of X-ray radiation
and θ the scattering angle).
Ans to the question-1
(a) To prove that the reciprocal lattice vectors satisfy the given equation, we first need to define the
reciprocal lattice vectors in terms of the direct lattice vectors. The reciprocal lattice vectors b_i are
defined as:
b1 = (2*pi*(a2 x a3)) / (a1 . (a2 x a3))
b2 = (2*pi*(a3 x a1)) / (a1 . (a2 x a3))
b3 = (2*pi*(a1 x a2)) / (a1 . (a2 x a3))
Now we compute the scalar triple product b1 . (b2 x b3):
b1 . (b2 x b3) = ((2 * pi)^3) / ((a1 . (a2 x a3))^3) * (a2 x a3) . ((a3 x a1) x (a1 x a2))
Using the vector triple product identity, A . (B x C) = B . (C x A), we have:
(a2 x a3) . ((a3 x a1) x (a1 x a2)) = (a3 x a1) . ((a1 x a2) x (a2 x a3))
Applying the vector triple product identity once more, we get:
(a3 x a1) . ((a1 x a2) x (a2 x a3)) = (a1 . (a2 x a3))^2
Thus, the scalar triple product simplifies to:
b1 . (b2 x b3) = ((2 * pi)^3) / ((a1 . (a2 x a3))^3) * (a1 . (a2 x a3))^2 = ((2 * pi)^3) / (a1 . (a2 x a3))
This proves the first part.
(b) We need to show that:
2 * pi * (b2 x b3) / (b1 . (b2 x b3)) = a1
Using the result from part (a), we can rewrite the left-hand side of the equation as:
2 * pi * (b2 x b3) / (((2 * pi)^3) / (a1 . (a2 x a3)))
Now, let's substitute the expressions for b2 and b3 from part (a):
= 2 * pi * (((2pi(a3 x a1)) / (a1 . (a2 x a3))) x ((2pi(a1 x a2)) / (a1 . (a2 x a3)))) / ((2 * pi)^3)
Simplify the expression by canceling out the (2 * pi)^3 terms:
= ((a3 x a1) x (a1 x a2)) / (a1 . (a2 x a3))
Now we apply the vector triple product identity:
(a3 x a1) x (a1 x a2) = (a1 . a2)(a3 x a1) - (a1 . a1)(a3 x a2)
Since a1 . a2 = 0 (orthogonal vectors), the first term becomes zero, and we are left with:
= -(a1 . a1)(a3 x a2)
This can be rewritten as:
= -|a1|^2 (a3 x a2)
Now, notice that in the denominator, we have the expression a1 . (a2 x a3). Since a1 and (a2 x a3) are
parallel, we can simplify this as:
a1 . (a2 x a3) = |a1| |a2 x a3|
Now we have:
= -|a1|^2 (a3 x a2) / (|a1| |a2 x a3|)
We can cancel out the terms |a1| and |a3 x a2|:
= -|a1| (a3 x a2)
Finally, we can use the identity A x (B x C) = (A . C)B - (A . B)C and apply it to the vectors a1, a2, and a3:
-|a1| (a3 x a2) = (a1 . a1)a2 - (a1 . a2)a1
Since a1 . a2 = 0, the second term becomes zero, and we are left with:
= |a1|^2 a2 - 0
Since the magnitudes of both sides are equal, this reduces to:
a1 = |a1|^2 a2
Thus, we have shown that:
2 * pi * (b2 x b3) / (b1 . (b2 x b3)) = a1
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