What's the difference between a superlattice, lattice and sublattice?

[asdf1]

What's the difference between a superlattice, lattice and sublattice?

 

[Astronuc]

Superlattice:

A lattice arrangement in which solute and solvent atoms of a solid solution occupy different preferred sites in the array. (from About.com)

(solid-state physics) An ordered arrangement of atoms in a solid solution which forms a lattice superimposed on the normal solid solution lattice. Also known as artificial crystal; artificially layered structure; superstructure. (from Answers.com)

semiconductor structure comprising of several ultra-thin layers (atomic layers) engineered to obtain specific electronic and photonic properties; slight modifications of chemical composition of each layer result in slight variations of energy bandgap from layer to layer: bandgap engineering; fabrication of superlattices requires high-precision heteroepitaxial deposition methods such as MBE and MOCVD; typically involves III-V semiconductors. ( http://semiconductorglossary.com/default.asp?searchterm=superlattice )

Generally, a superlattice denotes a structure (material) with periodically interchanging solid layers. Such structures possesses additional periodicity on a scale larger than atomic. (from Wikipedia)

The Wikipedia definition is reasonable.

Lattice - regular structural array (ordered structure) of atoms in a crystalline solid.

Sublattice - refers to the lattice/array of atoms of a particular element in a compound or alloy. For example, the U or O sublattices in UO₂. Ostensibly, it could refer to secondary phases (e.g. intermetallic compounds) in a primary phase (crystal structure).

From the ASM's Metals Handbook Desk Edition - "A space lattice can be viewed as a three-dimensional network of straight lines. The intersections of the lines (called lattice points) represent locations in space for the same kind of atom or group of atoms of identical composition, arrangement, and orientation."

Also from ASM's Handbook - "A crystal is a solid consisting of atoms or molecules arranged in a pattern that is repetitive in three dimensions. The arrangement of the atoms or molecules in the interior of a crystal is called its crystal structure. The unit cell of a crystal is the smallest pattern of arrangement that can be contained in a parallelepiped, the edges of which form the a, b, and c axes of the crystal. The three-dimensional aggregation of unit cells in the crystal forms a space lattice, or Bravais lattice."

 

[asdf1]

thank you very much!