DOMAIN SWITCHING BEHAVIOR OF FERROELASTIC BIVO

The ferroelastic domain switching behaviour has been investigated by employing the stress-strain hysteresis curves in BiVO4crystal grown by the Czochralski method. When a small stress is applied the domain walls which are (110)A and (110)B twin planes move and return to the initial positions as the stress is removed. This switching behaviour is found to be strongly influenced by the rate of strain, and may be explained by the restricted rotation of the VO4tetrahedron in the distorted scheelite structure. The switching stress of 2.6 × 106N/m2 is experimentally determined by progressively raising the strain. The value turns out to be in good agreement with 2.3 ~ 3.6 × 106N/m2 calculated from the elastic constants of BiVO4. © 1990, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. All rights reserved.