MILLER INDICES

group of three numbers that indicates the orientation of a plane or set of parallel planes of atoms in a crystal. If each atom in the crystal is represented by a point and these points are connected by lines, the resulting lattice may be divided into a number of identical blocks, or unit cells; the intersecting edges of one of the unit cells defines a set of crystallographic axes, and the Miller indices are determined by the intersection of the plane with these axes. The reciprocals of these intercepts are computed, and fractions are cleared to give the three Miller indices (hkl). For example, a plane parallel to two axes but cutting the third axis at a length equal to one edge of a unit cell has Miller indices of (100), (010), or (001), depending upon the axis cut; and a plane cutting all three axes at lengths equal to the edges of a unit cell has Miller indices of (111). This scheme, devised by British mineralogist and crystallographer William Hallowes Miller, in 1839, has the advantage of eliminating all fractions from the notation for a plane. In the hexagonal system, which has four crystallographic axes, a similar scheme of four Bravais-Miller indices is used.