Solid Schottky defects

Figure 5.1 Point defects in ionic solids Schottky defect, vacancy pair, Frenkel defect and aliovalent impurity (for definitions see Section 5.2).

Dislocation theory as a portion of the subject of solid-state physics is somewhat beyond the scope of this book, but it is desirable to examine the subject briefly in terms of its implications in surface chemistry. Perhaps the most elementary type of defect is that of an extra or interstitial atom—Frenkel defect [110]—or a missing atom or vacancy—Schottky defect [111]. Such point defects play an important role in the treatment of diffusion and electrical conductivities in solids and the solubility of a salt in the host lattice of another or different valence type [112]. Point defects have a thermodynamic basis for their existence in terms of the energy and entropy of their formation, the situation is similar to the formation of isolated holes and erratic atoms on a surface. Dislocations, on the other hand, may be viewed as an organized concentration of point defects they are lattice defects and play an important role in the mechanism of the plastic deformation of solids. Lattice defects or dislocations are not thermodynamic in the sense of the point defects their formation is intimately connected with the mechanism of nucleation and crystal growth (see Section IX-4), and they constitute an important source of surface imperfection. 

Materials that contain defects and impurities can exhibit some of the most scientifically interesting and economically important phenomena known. The nature of disorder in solids is a vast subject and so our discussion will necessarily be limited. The smallest degree of disorder that can be introduced into a perfect crystal is a point defect. Three common types of point defect are vacancies, interstitials and substitutionals. Vacancies form when an atom is missing from its expected lattice site. A common example is the Schottky defect, which is typically formed when one cation and one anion are removed from fhe bulk and placed on the surface. Schottky defects are common in the alkali halides. Interstitials are due to the presence of an atom in a location that is usually unoccupied. A... 

Two point defects may aggregate to give a defect pair (such as when the two vacanc that constitute a Schottky defect come from neighbouring sites). Ousters of defects ( also form. These defect clusters may ultimately give rise to a new periodic structure oi an extended defect such as a dislocation. Increasing disorder may alternatively give j to a random, amorphous solid. As the properties of a material may be dramatically alte by the presence of defects it is obviously of great interest to be able to imderstand th relationships and ultimately predict them. However, we will restrict our discussion small concentrations of defects. 

Thus, if Frenkel Defects predominate in a given solid, other defects are usually not present. Likewise, for the Schottky Defect. Note that this applies for associated defects. If these are not present, there will still be 2 types of defects present, each having an opposite effect upon stoichiometry. 

In some ionic crystals (primarily in halides of the alkali metals), there are vacancies in both the cationic and anionic positions (called Schottky defects—see Fig. 2.16). During transport, the ions (mostly of one sort) are shifted from a stable position to a neighbouring hole. The Schottky mechanism characterizes transport in important solid electrolytes such as Nernst mass (Zr02 doped with Y203 or with CaO). Thus, in the presence of 10 mol.% CaO, 5 per cent of the oxygen atoms in the lattice are replaced by vacancies. The presence of impurities also leads to the formation of Schottky defects. Most substances contain Frenkel and Schottky defects simultaneously, both influencing ion transport. 

Crystals with Frenkel or Schottky defects are reasonably ion-conducting only at rather high temperatures. On the other hand, there exist several crystals (sometimes called soft framework crystals ), which show surprisingly high ionic conductivities even at the room or slightly elevated temperatures. This effect was revealed by G. Bruni in 1913 two well known examples are Agl and Cul. For instance, the ar-modification of Agl (stable above 146°C, sometimes denoted also as y-modification ) exhibits at this temperature an Ag+ conductivity (t+ = 1) comparable to that of a 0.1m aqueous solution. (The solid-state Ag+ conductivity of a-Agl at the melting point is actually higher than that of the melt.) This unusual behaviour can hardly be explained by the above-discussed defect mechanism. It has been anticipated that the conductivity of ar-Agl and similar crystals is described... 

A point defect is a localized defect that consists of a mistake at a single atom site in a solid. The simplest point defects that can occur in pure crystals are missing atoms, called vacancies, or atoms displaced from the correct site into positions not normally occupied in the crystal, called self-interstitials. Additionally atoms of an impurity can occupy a normal atom site to form substitutional defects or can occupy a normally vacant position in the crystal structure to form an interstitial. Other point defects can be characterized in pure compounds that contain more than one atom. The best known of these are Frenkel defects, Schottky defects, and antisite defects. 

Lithium iodide pacemaker batteries use lithum iodide as the electrolyte, separating the lithium anode and the iodine anode. The function of the electrolyte is to transport ions but not electrons. Lithium iodide achieves this by the transport of Li+ ions from the anode to the cathode. This transport is made possible by the presence of Li vacancies that are generated by the intrinsic Schottky defect population present in the solid. Lithium ions jump from vacancy to vacancy during battery operation. 

In densely packed solids without obvious open channels, the transport number depends upon the defects present, a feature well illustrated by the mostly ionic halides. Lithium halides are characterized by small mobile Li+ ions that usually migrate via vacancies due to Schottky defects and have tc for Li+ close to 1. Similarly, silver halides with Frenkel defects on the cation sublattice have lc for Ag+ close to 1. Barium and lead halides, with very large cations and that contain... 

Figure 1.30 Representation of Frenkel and Schottky defects in a crystalline solid. Adapted from W. G. Moffatt, G. W. Pearsall, and J. Wnlff, The Structure and Properties of Materials, Vol. 1. Copyright 1964 by John Wiley Sons, Inc.

For a 1 1 solid MX, a Schottky defect consists of a pair of vacant sites, a cation vacancy, and an anion vacancy. This is presented in Figure 5.1 (a) for an alkali halide type structure the number of cation vacancies and anion vacancies have to be equal to preserve electrical neutrality. A Schottky defect for an MX2 type structure will consist of the vacancy caused by the ion together with two X anion vacancies, thereby balancing the electrical charges. Schottky defects are more common in 1 1 stoichiometry and examples of crystals that contain them include rock salt (NaCl), wurtzite (ZnS), and CsCl. 

Because Lil contains intrinsic Schottky defects, the small cations are able to pass through the solid electrolyte, while the released electrons go round an external circuit. 

Iron(II) oxide (wiistite, Section 4.6) also ranges in composition, from Fe0.88O to Fe0.95O stoichiometric FeO is not encountered in practice. As an extreme case, 5-TiO, an NaCl-type solid previously mentioned as exhibiting gross Schottky defects even when stoichiometric, ranges widely in composition ... 

If the semiconductor is an ionic solid, then electrical conduction can be electronic and ionic, the latter being due to the existence of defects within the crystal that can undergo movement, especially Frenkel defects (an ion vacancy balanced by an interstitial ion of the same type) and Schottky defects (cation and anion vacancies with ion migration to the surface). This will be discussed further in Chapter 13, as ionic crystals are the sensing components of an important class of ion selective electrodes. 

A variety of defect formation mechanisms (lattice disorder) are known. Classical cases include the - Schottky and -> Frenkel mechanisms. For the Schottky defects, an anion vacancy and a cation vacancy are formed in an ionic crystal due to replacing two atoms at the surface. The Frenkel defect involves one atom displaced from its lattice site into an interstitial position, which is normally empty. The Schottky and Frenkel defects are both stoichiometric, i.e., can be formed without a change in the crystal composition. The structural disorder, characteristic of -> superionics (fast -> ion conductors), relates to crystals where the stoichiometric number of mobile ions is significantly lower than the number of positions available for these ions. Examples of structurally disordered solids are -> f-alumina, -> NASICON, and d-phase of - bismuth oxide. The antistructural disorder, typical for - intermetallic and essentially covalent phases, appears due to mixing of atoms between their regular sites. In many cases important for practice, the defects are formed to compensate charge of dopant ions due to the crystal electroneutrality rule (doping-induced disorder) (see also -> electroneutrality condition). 

Walter Haus Schottky (1886-1976) received his doctorate in physics under Max Planck from the Humboldt University in Berlin in 1912. Although his thesis was on the special theory of relativity, Schottky spent his life s work in the area of semiconductor physics. He alternated between industrial and academic positions in Germany for several years. He was with Siemens AG until 1919 and the University of Wurzburg from 1920 to 1923. From 1923 to 1927, Schottky was professor of theoretical physics at the University of Rostock. He rejoined Siemens in 1927, where he finished out his career. Schottky s inventions include the ribbon microphone, the superheterodyne radio receiver, and the tetrode vacuum tube. In 1929, he published Thermodynamik, a book on the thermodynamics of solids. Schottky and Wagner studied the statistical thermodynamics of point defect formation. The cation/anion vacancy pair in ionic solids is named the Schottky defect. In 1938, he produced a barrier layer theory to explain the rectifying behavior of metal-semiconductor contacts. Metal-semiconductor diodes are now called Schottky barrier diodes. 

Subsequent findings that even conventional ionic solids, such as sodium chloride, have measurable conductivities that are not electronic stimulated the development of theories for ionic motion in solids. Early in this century, Ioffe introduced the concept of interstitial ions and vacancies (see Defects in Solids), which was the starting point of the theory of defects. Frenkel and Schottky used these theories to develop their classic mechanisms to explain how electricity can be conducted through ionic solids by the flow of ions (see Frenkel Defects, Schottky Defects) They proposed that ionic solids are not perfect, with every lattice site occupied by its appropriate ions, but contain defects in which either ions... 

Defects in crystalline ionic solids. (a) Schottky defects, in which there are vacant sites, (b) Frenkel defects, in which an % ... 

Frenkel defect. In some cases, the displaced ions are removed so far from their vacancies that they form a new layer at the crystal surface. The vacancies left behind in this case are called Schottky defects. Frenkel and Schottky defects play very important roles in the properties of solids altered by radiation damage. 

In atomic or molecular sohds, common types of point defects are the absence of an atom or molecule from its expected position at a regular lattice site (a vacancy), or the presence of an atom or molecule in a position which is not on the regular lattice (an interstitial). In ionic solids, these point defects occur in two main combinations. These are Schottky defects, in which there are equal numbers of cation and anion vacancies within the crystal, and Frenkel defects, in which there are cation vacancies associated with an equal number of "missing" cations located at non-lattice, interstitial positions. Both are illustrated in Figure 1.1. Point defects are also found in association with altervalent impurities, dislocations, etc., and combinations of vacancies with electrons or positive holes give rise to various types of colour centres (see below). 

For strongly ionic solids where cation and anion sizes are comparable, e.g. NaCf, KBr, etc., Schottky defects will predominate and both transport numbers and are greater than zero t = 0, no current is carried by electron migration). When the size of the cation is considerably smaller than the anion, eg. AgBr, AgCf, etc., Frenkel defects occur and the interstitial cations are the dominant current carriers 1). 

Point (microscopic) defects in contrast from the macroscopic are compatible with the atomic distances between the neighboring atoms. The initial cause of appearance of the point defects in the first place is the local energy fluctuations, owing to the temperature fluctuations. Point defects can be divided into Frenkel defects and Schottky defects, and these often occur in ionic crystals. The former are due to misplacement of ions and vacancies. Charges are balanced in the whole crystal despite the presence of interstitial or extra ions and vacancies. If an atom leaves its site in the lattice (thereby creating a vacancy) and then moves to the surface of the crystal, it becomes a Schottky defect. On the other hand, an atom that vacates its position in the lattice and transfers to an interstitial position in the crystal is known as a Frenkel defect. The formation of a Frenkel defect therefore produces two defects within the lattice—a vacancy and the interstitial defect—while the formation of a Schottky defect leaves only one defect within the lattice, that is, a vacancy. Aside from the formation of Schottky and Frenkel defects, there is a third mechanism by which an intrinsic point defect may be formed, that is, the movement of a surface atom into an interstitial site. Considering the electroneutrality condition for the stoichiometric solid solution, the ratio of mole parts of the anion and cation vacancies is simply defined by the valence of atoms (ions). Therefore, for solid solution M X, the ratio of the anion vacancies is equal to mJn. 

Usually the concentration of Frenkel and Schottky defects is relatively small. The maximum mole part of these defects does not exceed several tenths of a percent. Thus, the electroconductivity of such solid solutions is minimal even at the temperatures close to their melting point. 

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