Crystalline solids reciprocal lattices

In the diffraction pattern from a crystalline solid, the positions of the diffraction maxima depend on the periodicity of the structure (i.e. the dimensions of the unit cell), whereas the relative intensities of the diffraction maxima depend on the distribution of scattering matter (i.e. the atoms, ions or molecules) within the repeating unit. Each diffraction maximum is characterized by a unique set of integers h, k and l (called the Miller indices) and is defined by a scattering vector h in three-dimensional space, given by h=ha +A b +Zc. The three-dimensional space in which the diffraction pattern is measured is called reciprocal space , whereas the three-dimensional space defining the crystal structure is called direct space . The basis vectors a, b and c are called the reciprocal lattice vectors, and they depend on the crystal structure. A given diffraction maximum h is completely defined by the structure factor F(h), which has amplitude F(h) and phase a(h). In the case of X-ray diffraction, F(h) is related to the electron density p(r) within the unit cell by the equation... 

A crystallographic plane (hkl) is represented as a light spot of constructive interference when the Bragg conditions (Equation 2.3) are satisfied. Such diffraction spots of various crystallographic planes in a crystal form a three-dimensional array that is the reciprocal lattice of crystal. The reciprocal lattice is particularly useful for understanding a diffraction pattern of crystalline solids. Figure 2.7 shows a plane of a reciprocal lattice in which an individual spot (a lattice point) represents crystallographic planes with Miller indices (hkl). 

The purpose of pattern indexing is to reconstruct the three-dimensional reciprocal lattice of a crystalline solid from the radial distribution of lengths d =Hd) of the diffraction vectors. The basic equation used for indexing a powder diffraction pattern is obtained by squaring the reciprocal-lattice vectors =ha +kb +lc ), expressed in terms of the basis vectors of the reciprocal lattice a, b, c ) and hkl Miller indices,... 

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