Growth and characterization of ferroelectric glycine phosphite single crystals

Single crystals of a recent ferroelectric material, glycine phosphite were grown from aqueous solution employing the techniques of slow cooling and co ntrolled evaporation. Powder X-ray diffraction studies as well as thermal a nalysis were carried out on the grown crystals. The morphology of the cryst al has been determined using contact and optical goniometry. The mechanical hardness of the crystal was evaluated by Vickers indentation method. Thick ness dependence of the dielectric properties has been investigated and the results can be interpreted in terms of a surface layer of lower dielectric constant. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.