Phonons in SiC from INS, IXS, and Ab-Initio Calculations

Abstract

Preliminary results for the phonon dispersion curves of hexagonal 4H-SiC from experimental inelastic neutron (INS) and X-ray scattering (IXS) are reported and contrasted with those of cubic 3C-SiC and silicon. The experimental frequencies and scattering intensities are in excellent agreement with those from first-principles calculations using density-functional methods. The relative merits of the two experimental techniques and aspects of the density functional perturbation theory and the so-called frozen phonon method for the determination of the basic phonon properties are briefly outlined.