Hexagonal Closed Packing (HCP)

Hexagonal Closest Packing (HCP) - To form a three-dimensional closest packed structure, the hexagonal closest packed planes must be stacked such that atoms in successive planes nestle in the triangular "grooves" of the preceeding plane. Note that there are six of these "grooves" surrounding each atom in the hexagonal plane, but only three of them can be covered by atoms in the adjacent plane. The first plane is labeled "A" and the second plane is labeled "B", and the perpendicular interplanar spacing between plane A and plane B is 1.633r (compared to 2.000r for simple hexagonal). If the third plane is again in the "A" orientation and succeeding planes are stacked in the repeating pattern ABABA... = (AB), the resulting closest packed structure is HCP.