Electromechanical properties of Pb<Subscript>3</Subscript>Ga<Subscript>2</Subscript>Ge<Subscript>4</Subscript>O<Subscript>14</Subscript> piezoelectric crystals grown from solution in a melt

Single crystals of lead gallium germanate Pb₃Ga₂Ge₄O₁₄ are grown from their own solution melts. The propagation of bulk acoustic waves is investigated, and the elastic, piezoelectric, and dielectric constants are calculated. The temperature dependences of the dielectric constants of this compound are analyzed.     

Luminescence of yttrium aluminum borate single crystals doped with manganese

The optical absorption and luminescence spectra of single crystals of yttrium aluminum borate YAl₃(BO₃)₄ doped with manganese ions are measured. It is established that the optical absorption spectra of yttrium aluminum borate single crystals doped with manganese ions are determined primarily by the contribution from the Mn⁴⁺ ions. The luminescence spectra of the YAl₃(BO₃)₄ single crystals doped with manganese exhibit narrow lines attributed to the Mn⁴⁺ ions and an extended multiband structure which is associated primarily with the contribution from the Mn²⁺ ions.     

Colossal magnetodielectric effect in SmFe<Subscript>3</Subscript>(BO<Subscript>3</Subscript>)<Subscript>4</Subscript> multiferroic

The colossal (more than threefold) decrease in the dielectric constant ɛ in the easy-plane SmFe₃(BO₃)₄ ferroborate in a magnetic field of ∼5 kOe applied in the basal ab plane of the crystal has been found. A close relation of this effect to anomalies in the field dependence of the electric polarization has been established. It has been shown that this magnetodielectric effect is due to the contribution to ɛ from the electric susceptibility, which is related to the rotation of spins in the ab plane, arises in the region of the antiferromagnetic ordering T < T _N = 33 K, and is suppressed by the magnetic field. A theoretical model describing the main features of the behavior of ɛ and electric polarization in the magnetic field has been proposed, taking into account the additional anisotropy in the basal plane induced by the magnetoelastic stresses.     

Vibrational spectra and elastic,piezoelectric, and magnetoelectric properties of HoFe3(BO3)4 and HoAl3(BO3)4 crystals

Raman spectra of light are obtained for HoFe₃(BO₃)₄ and HoAl₃(BO₃)₄ crystals at various temperatures and are used for determining the frequencies of crystal lattice vibrations at the center of the Brillouin zone. It is also found that the HoFe₃(BO₃)₄ crystal exhibits a phase transition at T _c ≈ 366 K. The magnetoelectric effect in the paramagnetic phase of these compounds is studied experimentally. The lattice vibration frequencies, elastic and piezoelectric moduli, Born dynamic charges, and the high-frequency permittivity are calculated using the density functional method. A peculiar behavior of the transverse acoustic vibration branch is observed in the Γ → Z direction of the Brillouin zone of the HoFe₃(BO₃)₄ crystal. The electric polarization induced by an external field is estimated using the calculated values of piezoelectric moduli and experimental values of magnetostriction.     

The growth and structure of Pb3Ga2Ge4O14 and Ba3Ga2Ge4O14 single crystals

Conditions for the flux synthesis of Pb₃Ga₂Ge₄O₁₄ and Ba₃Ga₂Ge₄O₁₄ single crystals and their solid solutions Pb_{3 − x} Ba_xGa₂Ge₄O₁₄ are studied. Structural analysis showed that the Ga³⁺-and Ge⁴⁺-cation positions in flux-grown Pb₃Ga₂Ge₄O₁₄ and Ba₃Ga₂Ge₄O₁₄ single crystals are not mixed. __________ Translated from Kristallografiya, Vol. 49, No. 2, 2004, pp. 325–328. Original Russian Text Copyright ? 2004 by Bezmaternykh, Vasil’ev, Gudim, Temerov. This work was presented at the National Conference on Crystal Growth (NCCG-2002, Moscow).     

Structure of Gd<Subscript>0.95</Subscript>Bi<Subscript>0.05</Subscript>Fe<Subscript>3</Subscript>(BO<Subscript>3</Subscript>)<Subscript>4</Subscript> single crystals at 293 and 90 K

The structure of GdFe₃(BO₃)₄ single crystals has been studied by X-ray diffraction at 293 and 90 K. The crystals are grown from a flux in the Bi₂Mo₃O₁₂–B₂O₃–Li₂MoO₄–Gd₂O₃–Fe₂O₃ system. The results of chemical analysis and structural study show that these crystals contain bismuth as an impurity. It is found that bismuth atoms are located at gadolinium sites in the structure. A decrease in the temperature is accompanied by a lowering of the symmetry from sp. gr. R32 (at 293 K) to sp. gr. P3₁21 (at 90 K). The presence of two types of iron chains with different geometries at 90 K promotes a change in the magnetic properties of these crystals with a decrease in the temperature.     

Crystal field and exchange interactions in the SmFe3(BO3)4 multiferroic

The optical spectra of oriented SmFe₃(BO₃)₄ single crystals are studied in the region of the f-f transitions in the Sm³⁺ ion by Fourier spectroscopy. The energies, the symmetry properties, and the exchange splittings of the Stark sublevels of the ground and 17 excited multiplets of the Sm³⁺ ion in a crystal field of symmetry D ₃ are determined from the measured temperature dependences of polarized-radiation absorption spectra. The parameters of the crystal field acting on samarium ions and the parameters of the exchange interaction between Sm³⁺ and Fe³⁺ ions are found. The anisotropy of the effective exchange interaction is shown to be substantially stronger than the magnetic anisotropy, due to a strong crystal-field-induced mixing of the ground and excited multiplets.     

High-temperature heat capacity of TbFe3(BO3)4

The molar heat capacity of TbFe₃(BO₃)₄ in the temperature range of 346–1041 K has been measured by differential scanning calorimetry. It has been found that the C _p = f(T) curve does not show extremes. The thermodynamic properties of the oxide compound have been determined from the experimental data.     

Infrared absorption spectra of a Nd0.5Ho0.5Fe3(BO3)4 crystal

Infrared absorption spectra of a Nd_0.5Ho_0.5Fe₃(BO₃)₄ crystal in the spectral range of 30–1700 cm^–1 have been measured at temperatures from 6 to 300 K. The experimental spectra have been analyzed based on the semiempirical calculation of the lattice dynamics and the analysis of correlation diagrams of borate complexes. No changes associated with structural phase transitions have been detected in the temperature range of measurements; the effect of magnetic ordering on the infrared absorption spectra has not been observed.