Raman spectroscopy of wurtzite and zinc-blende GaAs nanowires: Polarization dependence, selection rules, and strain effects

Abstract

Polarization-dependent Raman scattering experiments realized on single GaAs nanowires with different percentages of zinc-blende and wurtzite structure are presented. The selection rules for the special case of nanowires are found and discussed. In the case of zinc-blende, the transversal optical mode ${E}_{1}$ (TO) at $267\text{ }{\text{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ exhibits the highest intensity when the incident and analyzed polarization are parallel to the nanowire axis. This is a consequence of the nanowire geometry and dielectric mismatch with the environment, and in quite good agreement with the Raman selection rules. We also find a consistent splitting of $1\text{ }{\text{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ of the ${E}_{1}$ (TO). The transversal optical mode related to the wurtzite structure, $E_{2}{}^{H}$, is measured between 254 and $256\text{ }{\text{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$, depending on the wurtzite content. The azimuthal dependence of $E_{2}{}^{H}$ indicates that the mode is excited with the highest efficiency when the incident and analyzed polarization are perpendicular to the nanowire axis, in agreement with the selection rules. The presence of strain between wurtzite and zinc-blende is analyzed by the relative shift of the ${E}_{1}$ (TO) and $E_{2}{}^{H}$ modes. Finally, the influence of the surface roughness in the intensity of the longitudinal optical mode on {110} facets is presented.