The modeling of tilt grain boundaries in terms of repeating structural units of varying separation is now a well established concept. High-resolution electron microscope (HREM) images of different tilt grain boundaries in many materials display a qualitative similarity of atomic configurations of the grain boundary structure. These boundaries are frequently described in terms of characteristic structural units, which may be separated from each other by regions of ‘perfect’ crystal (as, for example, in low-angle grain boundaries), or may be contiguous, forming ordered arrays of the structural units along the boundary. In general there will be a different arrangement of the structural units or an arrangement of different structural units, according to the precise geometry of the particular grain boundary. The structure of some special grain boundaries has been examined and these are found to exist in several different configurations, depending on the orientation of the grain boundary plane among other parameters. Symmetry-related symmetric tilt grain boundaries and asymmetric tilt grain boundaries with one grain having a prominent, low-index facet, are commonly observed, low-energy configurations. Structural multiplicity of these configurations along the same grain boundary has been observed in some systems. Defects in the perfect ordering of the structural units may be caused by deviations of the grain boundary plane away from the perfect tilt orientation. Deviations of grain boundary structure away from the exact orientation will also produce defects in the repeating structural unit configuration. These deviations may have a regular and well-defined structure, producing a more complex structural unit.
Structural and electronic properties of defects at grain boundaries in CuInSe2