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A convenient and fast method to determine the composition of LiNbO3 single crystals consisting of a measurement of the position of the fundamental absorption edge in the near UV region is refined and extended to the stoichiometric range. Using unsophisticated apparatus and simple reflection correction, the proposed two-parameter calibration equation provides an absolute accuracy of 0.1 mol % with the relative accuracy reaching an unusual value of better than 0.01 mol % for near stoichiometric compositions.

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The structure of strontium barium niobate crystals SrxBa1-xNb2O6 is comprehensively studied in the whole range of the tetragonal tungsten bronze phase (x=0.32-0.82) using both powder and single-crystal X-ray diffraction measurements. Unit-cell parameters, density, site-occupancy factors and interionic distances show an explicit composition dependence which can be consistently explained using simple model calculations. The temperature dependence of the unit-cell parameters exhibits a remarkable anisotropy in a broad temperature region below the phase transition temperature. This proves that the electrostrictive contribution to the thermal expansion plays an important role in strontium barium niobate.

Strontium based complex perovskites are potential candidates for microwave integrated circuit applications. In the present article, we report on Raman scattering studies of cubic and noncubic structures of Sr(B0.5′Nb0.5)O3 [B′=Ga, In, Y, La, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, and Yb] based complex-perovskite materials for an improved understanding of structure-property relations. The spectral results are compared to some tantalum analogues of known crystal structure. The present study reveals a higher degree of ordering for the tantalum compounds compared to those of the niobium analogues. Vibrational studies show a correlation between the tolerance factor and symmetry of these materials.

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