Heat Capacity and Features of the Phonon Spectrum of Single Crystals of Solid Solutions of Yttrium–Lutetium Aluminum Garnets

The temperature dependences of the heat capacity were measured and the general patterns of the formation of the phonon spectrum of single crystals of solid solutions of yttrium-lutetium aluminum garnets Y_{3 – x}Lu_xAl₅O₁₂ at 0 ≤ x ≤ 3 were investigated in the temperature range from 1.9 to 220 K. According to the data obtained at temperatures below 10 K, the Debye temperatures were calculated. The features of the phonon spectrum in the intermediate temperature range are interpreted as a superposition of optical modes for yttrium and lutetium garnets. It is shown that the low heat capacity values due to the contribution of acoustic phonons for Y_2.25Lu_0.75Al₅O₁₂ correlate with anomalies in the concentration dependences of the phonon transport, the absorption of acoustic waves, and the shape of the aluminum NMR line.