The influence of ferroelastic domain structure on thermal conductivity of Gd/sub 2/(MoO/sub 4/)/sub 3/

Thermal conductivity, k, of GMO crystal was measured for temperatures from 0.5 to 80 K. The maximum of k was observed at 18 K and its value depended on the actual domain state of the sample. The ferroelastic domain walls and antiphase boundaries, characterised by elastic inhomogeneities, are responsible for additional phonon scattering and a decrease in the thermal conductivity. The deviation of the temperature dependence of thermal conductivity from the classical Debye theory observed below 4 K is related to the anomalous behaviour of specific heat in the region of the antiferromagnetic transition at T/sub N/=0.3 K.