Silicon carbide (6H polytype) SiC

Unit cell

Lattice constants

a = 3.095 Å, b = 3.095 Å, c = 15.170 Å; α = 90°, β = 90°, γ = 120°

Cell volume

125.8 ų

Atoms in the cell

12 (C 6, Si 6)

Formula units Z

6

Calculated density

0.95 g cm⁻³

Shortest contact

1.895 Å

Coordination

C

CN 4 at 1.90 Å (4 Si)

Si

CN 4 at 1.90 Å (4 C)

About the structure

• Si–C tetrahedral layers stacked in a six-layer repeat (ABCACB): one of the many SiC polytypes between the cubic 3C (zinc-blende) and hexagonal 2H (wurtzite) limits.
• Hard, refractory and a wide-gap semiconductor used in high-power, high-temperature electronics.
• Coordinates from the Crystallography Open Database, entry 1011053 (open data); hydrogen and water sites with partial occupancy below 0.5 are left out.

Atom positions (fractional, one cell)

Z, coordination numbers, distances, density and packing on this page are computed from these coordinates.