In the last several decades Raman and Brillouin inelastic light scattering techniques have been  used to study phonons in different materials. In particular, these non-destructive methods provide information on supported semiconductor layers modified by ion implantation.

Raman spectra are very sensitive to quantum size effect. The phonon-confinement model is widely used for Raman lineshape analyses in nanostructured materials, giving information on a phonon localization length, nanocrystallite diameters, etc. Relative fractions of amorphous and crystalline phases in ion-implanted semiconductor layers can be estimated.  It is possible to distinguish between short-range and medium-range order amorphous phases, the latter one evidenced in the Raman spectra by a presence of the so-called boson peak.

Brillouin light scattering from Rayleigh or Sezawa surface acoustic phonons is unique for elastic characterization of 100-1000 nm thick layers. This range is very appropriate for revailing properties of ion-implanted subsurface layers. Bulk and shear elastic constants and elastic anisotropy factors can be precisely determined from the angular dispersion of the propagating phonons.

The examples of Raman and Brillouin scattering application to our studies of nanostructured layers are presented. They include investigations of ion beam-fabricated semiconductor nanocrystallites in semiconductor or insulator matrices important in electronic technology.

 

 

Jerzy Zuk*, Institute of Physics, Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, Poland
H. Krzyżanowska, Institute of Physics, Maria Curie-Sklodowska University and Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Rochester, Poland
M. Kulik, Institute of Physics, Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, Poland
K. Pyszniak, Institute of Physics, Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, Poland

*presenting author