Diffraction study of the piezoelectric properties of low quartz

The effect of a static electric field on the crystal structure of <InlineEquation ID="Equ1"> <EquationSource Format="TEX">$\alpha $</EquationSource> </InlineEquation>-quartz has been determined by Xray diffraction on single crystals. By a stroboscopic technique rocking curves are measured quasi simultaneously for zero field and for two opposite strong fields (28.8 kV/cm) applied in the direction of the crystallographic a-axis. The relative intensity-changes of high order reflections (i.e. sensitive to the core electrons) were measured and analysed by a least squares method technique. The analysis indicates that the bond distances Si-O are very little affected by the field, but both a deformation and a reorientation of the SiO<Subscript>4</Subscript> tetrahedra are induced. The model is qualitatively in agreement with the small amplitudes of the induced polarisation and the piezoelectric coefficients. Copyright Springer-Verlag Berlin/Heidelberg 2004