Study of ferroelectric phase transition in Pb5Ge3O11 by paramagnetic resonance of Gd3+ centres

The temperature dependence of the fine structure of trigonal paramagnetic Gd3+ centres in Pb5Ge3O11 was investigated in a wide temperature range in the vicinity of structural phase transition. The temperature dependence of the squared order parameter has been constructed based on the obtained data. It was shown that for the adequate description of its behaviour, the sixth-power term in polarization must be taken into account in the expansion of the thermodynamic potential. The orientational dependence of anomalous broadening of electron paramagnetic resonance signals in the vicinity of ferroelectric phase transition was studied. By comparison of the observed behaviour with the angular dependences of the line width that are characteristic of various broadening mechanisms, it was inferred that it can be attributed to defect induced statistical dispersion of fine structure triclinic parameters.