Lattice plane

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In crystallography, a lattice plane of a given Bravais lattice is a plane (or family of parallel planes) whose intersections with the lattice (or any crystalline structure of that lattice) are periodic (i.e. are described by 2d Bravais lattices). All lattice planes can be described by a set of integer Miller indices, and vice versa (all integer Miller indices define lattice planes).

Conversely, planes that are not lattice planes have aperiodic intersections with the lattice called quasicrystals; this is known as a "cut-and-project" construction of a quasicrystal (and is typically also generalized to higher dimensions).

[edit] References

  • Neil W. Ashcroft and N. David Mermin, Solid State Physics (Harcourt: New York, 1976).
  • J. B. Suck, M. Schreiber, and P. Häussler, eds., Quasicrystals: An Introduction to Structure, Physical Properties, and Applications (Springer: Berlin, 2004).