Abstract
Inelastic light scattering is a powerful probe of various properties of semiconductors, heterostructures, and superlattices. Three types of excitatious have been applied. Allowed phonon scattering is used to obtain information on composition, structure, orientation, periodicity and built-in strain in semiconductor thin layer structures. “Forbidden” LO- phonon scattering in polar semiconductors is sensitive to internal electric fields and barrier heights. The study of the formation of semiconductor heterostructures from clean surfaces to overlayers with a thickness of several hundred Angstroms is possible. The most widely studied properties of low
Schematics of inelastic light scattering
dimensional systems are the elementary excitations of two-dimensional electron and hole gases at semiconductor interfaces and in superlattices1. Light scattering became a multi-purpose experimental technique which goes far beyond its power as a spectroscopic tool that yields just the energies of electronic or vibronic excitations. The essential information which can be extracted from the analysis of back scattering light is shown schematically in the block diagram of Fig. 1. In the present paper we present a comprehensive overview of the various possible excitations in low-dimensional systems. Emphasis is put on electronic excitations of two-dimensional carrier systems. The possibilities of applying this technique to narrow-gap semiconductors is briefly discussed. The paper ends with a concise description of specific phonon aspects in low dimensional systems. For more details the reader is referred to the many review articles which appeared recently in the literature for each subject.
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References
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© 1987 Plenum Press, New York
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Abstreiter, G. (1987). Raman Scattering at Interfaces. In: Sotomayor Torres, C.M., Portal, J.C., Maan, J.C., Stradling, R.A. (eds) Optical Properties of Narrow-Gap Low-Dimensional Structures. NATO ASI Series, vol 152. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-1879-8_22
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-1879-8_22
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