Raman spectroscopy for characterization of hard, wide-bandgap semiconductors: Diamond, GaN, GaA1N, A1N, BN

This paper reviews the Raman spectroscopy of diamond films, GaN, Al_xGa_1-xN alloys, A1N, and BN. The review focuses on the use of Raman spectroscopy to characterize various physical aspects such as stress, temperature, and microstructure, as determined by their influence on the Raman active modes manifested by the Raman lineshape. The phononplasmon interaction in GaN due to the characteristic unintentional n-type doping of this material is also discussed. Furthermore, a short summary of the behavior of the optical modes of mixed alloys is presented, followed by a discussion of the Raman characteristics of Al_xGa_1-xN alloy.