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.     

Magnetic and thermal properties of single-crystal NdFe<Subscript>3</Subscript>(BO<Subscript>3</Subscript>)<Subscript>4</Subscript>

The neodymium ferroborate NdFe₃(BO₃)₄ undergoes an antiferromagnetic transition at T _N = 30 K, which manifests itself as a λ-type anomaly in the temperature dependence of the specific heat C and as inflection points in the temperature dependences of the magnetic susceptibility χ measured at various directions of an applied magnetic field with respect to the crystallographic axes of the sample. Magnetic ordering occurs only in the subsystem of Fe³⁺ ions, whereas the subsystem of Nd³⁺ ions remains polarized by the magnetic field of the iron subsystem. A change in the population of the levels of the ground Kramers doublet of neodymium ions manifests itself as Schottky-type anomalies in the C(T) and χ(T) dependences at low temperatures. At low temperatures, the magnetic properties of single-crystal NdFe₃(BO₃)₄ are substantially anisotropic, which is determined by the anisotropic contribution of the rare-earth subsystem to the magnetization. The experimental data obtained are used to propose a model for the magnetic structure of NdFe₃(BO₃)₄.     

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.     

Magnetization and specific heat of DyFe3(BO3)4 single crystal

We present thermodynamic and magnetic studies of single crystalline DyFe₃(BO₃)₄. The data indicate an easy axis antiferromagnetic order below T_N~ 38 K which we attribute to the Fe subsystem. The Dy subsystem remains paramagnetic down to the lowest investigated temperatures of 2 K, but it is polarized by the Fe spins due to a f-d interaction. External magnetic field leads to a spin-flop transition in the iron subsystem as well as to superposed magnetization in the Dy subsystem. The repopulation of two low-lying Kramers doublets in Dy³⁺ ions results in well defined Schottky anomalies in specific heat and magnetization.     

Optical absorption spectrum and local symmetry of Tm ion in TmAl3(BO3)4 crystal

With the help of group theory analysis of absorption spectra of the transition ³H₆ → ³F₃ of Tm³⁺ ion in TmAl₃(BO₃)₄ crystal, measured at several temperatures from 1.8 till 293 K, it has been shown, that the local symmetry of the Tm³⁺ environment is C₃ and it decreases to C₁ at a low temperature. Effective selection rules and polarizations of lines at high enough temperatures (when the line-width is larger than the splitting in C₃ symmetry) have been obtained.     

On the excitation and propagation of magnetoelastic and magnetostatic waves in inhomogeneously magnetized monocrystals

Results are presented of the experimental study of the excitation of magnetoelastic and magnetostatic waves in monocrystalline prisms of iron garnets magnetized by an inhomogeneous external field with a longitudinal component decaying in the axial direction. Application of such excitation conditions to the reduction of the working frequencies of controllable microwave delay lines is considered.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 9, pp. 53–56, September, 1981.     

Magneto-optical spectroscopy of Yb ions in huntite structure

We report the first measurements of magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) and magneto-optical activity (ratio of zero moments of MCD and absorption bands) of Yb³⁺ ion in the trigonal single crystals Yb_xTm_1−xAl₃(BO₃)₄ as a function of temperature in the range of 100-293 K. Magneto-optical activity follows the Curie-Weiss law with the Weiss constant θ=−55 K for Yb_0.1Tm_0.9Al₃(BO₃)₄ crystal. The value and origin of the magneto-optical activity is theoretically analyzed.     

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).     

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.     

Optical and magneto-optical studies of a multiferroic GaFeO<Subscript>3</Subscript> with a high Curie temperature

Single crystals of a noncentrosymmetric orthorhombic pyroelectric ferrimagnet Ga_2?xFe_xO₃ with a Curie temperature within 260–345 K have been grown by the flux method. It has been found that the electrical properties of the single crystals varied over a broad range from 10⁵ to 10¹³ Ω cm depending on the presence of transitionmetal oxide impurities. The dispersion relations for all three principal dielectric functions of orthorhombic GaFeO₃ have been determined in the range 0.7–5.4 eV by spectroscopic ellipsometry. The spectra of the dielectric functions of the orthorhombic Ga_2?xFe_xO₃ crystals are compared with the spectra of the trigonal crystals. The Faraday effect and second-harmonic generation are studied, and the law of the transition to the paramagnetic state has been determined. The crystallographic and magnetic contributions to the second-harmonic generation are analyzed.