Manifestation of Basal-Plane Anisotropy and Mechanical Boundary Conditions in Magnetic Birefringence of Sound in Hematite

The angular dependence of the magnetic birefringence of sound in hematite is experimentally investigated as a function of the direction of a magnetic field applied in the basal plane of the hematite crystal. It is found that, at room temperature, the curve of magnetoacoustic oscillations in the magnetic field, i.e., the oscillatory dependence of the amplitude of an acoustic wave transmitted through the crystal on the magnetic field strength, is characterized by hexagonal and uniaxial anisotropy. It is shown that the hexagonal anisotropy is governed by the basal-plane anisotropy of higher orders. The appearance of the uniaxial magnetic anisotropy in the basal plane of the crystal is explained by the mechanical stresses arising in the sample when piezoelectric transducers are glued to the sample ends. This assumption is confirmed by the observed change in the direction of the uniaxial anisotropy axis under variations in the boundary conditions.