Barkhausen effect in stepped motion of a plane domain boundary in gadolinium molybdate

Barkhausen pulses generated in stepped motion of a single plane domain boundary (PDB) are investigated experimentally in single-crystalline wafers of the extrinsic ferroelastic ferroelectric gadolinium molybdate containing artificial pinning centers of the “field inhomogeneity” type near the edges of the sample. Two scenarios of the evolution of a PDB in interaction with “defects” are proposed on the basis of analyzing the shape of the pulses in a linearly increasing field: small changes of the pulse shape in a weak field and the generation of wedge domains in a strong field. The proposed mechanism of PDB motion due to the generation of steps near the edge of the sample and their longitudinal motion provides a means for explaining the experimentally observed linear field dependence of the PDB velocity and for determining the velocity of the steps.