Nuclear quadrupole resonance studies of209Bi in Bi4(GeO4)3 and Bi4(SiO4)3

Nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) of²⁰⁹Bi has been studied in Bi₄ (GeO₄)₃ and Bi₄ (SiO₄)₃ using a wide band coherence-controlled superregenerative oscillator-detector. All the four allowed (ΔM _I=±1) transitions are observed. In both cases the electric field gradient (EFG) tensor is axially symmetric (η=0.0). The quadrupole coupling constante ² qQ is measured to be 490.8±1 MHz and 470.4±1 MHz respectively. It is pointed out that the purely ionic model is inadequate to understand these results. With the available experimental accuracy and the strength of the applied electric field (∼ 6 KV/cm), no field-induced effects on the NQR spectrum could be observed in the case of Bi₄ (SiO₄)₃.