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Brillouin Zones

This teaching and learning package provides an introduction to Brillouin zones in two and three dimensions and is aimed at developing familiarity with Brillouin Zones. It will not cover any specific applications. Brillouin Zones are particularly useful in understanding the electronic and thermal properties of crystalline solids.

Diagram showing Brillouin Zones for a 2-D square reciprocal lattice

Aims
Before you start
Introduction
Reciprocal lattice vectors
Brillouin Zone construction
The general case in three dimensions
Zone folding
Examples of Brillouin Zones in Three Dimensions
Summary
Questions
Going further

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First created: August 2006. Last updated: April 2008



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